In the 1960s, the escudo zone, comprising Portugal and its African colonies, countered the trend of European decolonization. The Portuguese state reorganized monetary relations in the empire-state with the help of a new legal framework. The aim of this imperial economic reorganization was to establish a balance of payment relations which was expected to facilitate Portugal’s economic modernization and the country’s association with liberalizing economies in Western Europe that were experiencing rapid economic growth. However, the escudo zone soon became dysfunctional. Mata explains why the designs of economy building in a Portuguese empire-state could not be realized, given the trend toward independent political and economic development in Lusophone Africa.

20世纪60年代，由葡萄牙及其非洲殖民地组成的埃斯库多区逆袭了欧洲非殖民化的潮流。葡萄牙政府在新的法律框架的帮助下重组了帝国国家的货币关系。这次帝国经济重组的目的是建立国际收支关系，以促进葡萄牙的经济现代化以及该国与正在经历快速经济增长的西欧自由化经济体的联系。然而，埃斯库多区很快就失去了功能。马塔解释了为什么葡萄牙帝国国家经济建设的设计无法实现，因为葡语非洲的政治和经济独立发展的趋势。