In 1942 she entered Portugal's Social Services Institute and received lessons from Father Abel Varzim [pt] who contributed significantly to the development of her political ideas.
[1] Her initial work experience as a social worker included a posting at a cork factory in Seixal and in the Bairro da Boavista, a newly constructed area of Lisbon populated mainly by the very poor.
[2] On New Year's Eve 1961 about 20 soldiers and civilians stormed the army barracks at Beja in an attack supported by Humberto Delgado.
Interviewed later in her life she stated that she managed to stick to her determination to deny knowledge of the planned assault in Beja while at the same time indicating her full support for the overthrow of the Estado Novo.
After being released she joined the Patriotic Front for National Liberation, working with the future President of Portugal Jorge Sampaio.
[1][2] In 1967 Varela Gomes visited London for contacts with the exiled Frente Portuguesa de Libertação Nacional (FPLN – Portuguese Front for National Liberation), which had been set up by Delgado.
In 1969 she was a co-founder of the National Commission for Relief for Political Prisoners (Conselho Nacional de Socorro aos Presos Políticos - CNSPP).
[4] Following the Carnation Revolution, which deposed the Estado Novo on 25 April 1974, she worked with lawyers and the CNSPP to secure the immediate release of all political prisoners.