The paradigm of transgression (III)
In Spain, the carabineros (integrated into the republican army) oversaw controlling the border as from the 19th century, whereas in Portugal it was the fiscal guards (guardinhas, in Portuguese), very like the carabineros, who monitored the other side of the border. Both lived in or around the border posts and guard huts spread along the border at certain strategic points. These posts also acted as rural customs houses to control both people and merchandise. To cross from one country to another you needed permission from the post commander and could only cross at certain times of the day.
Pairs of carabineros left the border posts and went to the border line at night to reinforce their colleagues on guard there. The corporals and sergeants lived in the huts and acted as commanders, whereas rank carabineros and their families lived in simple huts scattered around the border post. With time, only bachelor soldiers were posted to these frontline posts and much later, these frontline posts were abandoned and the guards moved to barracks in settlements near the border.
After the war of 1936-1939 and partly as a punishment for not having supported the coup d´état from the beginning, the carabinero corps was integrated into the Guardia Civil, within which a specialised group was formed for border control: they were known as «Tercios de Frontera» (Frontier Squads).