Maria dos Santos Machado (1890 – 1958) was a teacher and a Communist Party activist against the authoritarian Estado Novo (which governed Portugal from 1926 to 1974).

She also created a private school for the children of railway workers, which would be closed by the police, and founded a library in Alges near Lisbon.

She was one of the founders of the Associação Feminina Portuguesa para a Paz (Portuguese Women's Association for Peace - AFPP).

She found employment as a housekeeper in a private house and embroidered rugs to survive, while continuing, clandestinely, to give free classes to workers.

Maria dos Santos Machado died on 4 October 1958 from a heart attack while walking in the Amadora district of Lisbon.