“It was the so-called boy catch.” The description was owned on October 4, 1996 by the then leader of CAP (Confederation of Peasants of Portugal), Raul Rosado Fernandes (1934-2018). He referred to the unprecedented and surprising decision of the then Minister of Agriculture, Fernando Gomes da Silva, to leave his office in Praça do Comércio and join the demonstration against him that CAP had called and who arrived there, coming from Rossio.
The DN reporter, Luís Naves, also joked in the report published the next day, saying that the minister’s sudden appearance had stolen media stardom from Boyan award-winning breeding bull of the breed Limousine with 1300 kilos that the demonstrators had brought to Lisbon to brighten up the protest.
There were several reasons that motivated CAP’s demonstration against the government (of the PS, led by António Guterres). For example, alleged delays in unblocking credit lines; or maintaining bureaucratic blockages to the payment of subsidies. “The government has changed, but agricultural policy is the same,” read one of the posters.
But the most important reason – and therefore perhaps the slow presence of cattle Boy – was the government’s plan to eradicate the then famous ‘mad cow disease’, a popular name for ‘bovine spongiform encephalopathy’, a neurodegenerative disease in livestock that in humans, through diet, is a variant of Creutzfeld-Jakob disease could cause.
“We think the arrival of the minister when we are in conflict is in bad taste.”
The plan would entail large-scale slaughter of livestock, causing huge losses to the sector. Beef prices fell by as much as 40% and the recovery, which was already underway at that time, seemed very slow. In another highly controversial act, the Minister of Agriculture had already insisted on being photographed and filmed eating cow brains – his attempt to increase public confidence in the consumption of cow meat.
Now he joined the demonstration against him, arguing that he himself was a farmer. CAP’s president, Rosado Fernandes, greeted him warmly, but in the speeches section the organization’s general secretary, José Manuel Casqueiro, was less sympathetic: “We felt the arrival of the minister was in bad taste when we were arguing.” The DN reporter hypothesized that Fernando Gomes da Silva had “exhausted the farmers’ patience” with this gesture. Almost exactly two years later, on October 3, 1998, Fernando Gomes da Silva, struck by serious health problems, would leave the government. He never returned to active politics.
The Soares case
About ten years earlier, in January 1986, Mário Soares’ case had similarities to that of Gomes da Silva, but also had some differences. The political country then witnessed the beginning of what would become the most exciting campaign of constitutional democracy: the presidential elections scheduled to elect Ramalho Eanes’ successor.
Soares started on January 15, 1996, was enthusiastically received at the Caldas da Rainha market and spent the whole day wandering around the Leiria district, which was generally always well received, especially in Nazaré, an old socialist stronghold. At the end of the afternoon he left for Marinha Grande, where he would visit the Fábrica-Escola Stephens, the most representative glass company in the municipality.
Sometime during the day his campaign had been told that many people would be at the factory gates demonstrating with great vehemence that he was not welcome. The company was in a very difficult situation, with wages unpaid for months – and Soares, as a former prime minister, was held responsible for this. The candidate had to decide whether to go or not – and he did.
Two wings formed outside the factory, one pro-Soares and the other anti. The tension had been building for hours, with insults from one side to the other. The tension turned into physical aggression when Soares walked through the space between the two wings and was attacked (and the only reason he wasn’t attacked anymore was because of his bodyguard’s protection).
The historic leader of the Socialists – who had emerged with a minuscule 7% in the polls – blamed Salgado Zenha’s campaign and took full advantage of the incident with the aim of destroying all the votes of the moderate left (PS and even PS) to concentrate. some PSDs). In this first round he won the left-wing primaries, defeating Salgado Zenha (supported by the PRD and the PCP) and Maria de Lurdes Pintasilgo. It was a black nail. And in no time (about 150,000 votes), the right-wing candidate, Freitas do Amaral, would win later in the second round.
Has Marcelo changed?
Last Sunday, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, eager to appear impartial in the war between Israel and Hamas, went to meet protesters who were furious with him for the public scolding he had delivered two days earlier to the Palestinian ambassador in Lisbon (the now famous ‘they should’). I haven’t started yet”). “You talk too much,” they said to him – and it was the most beautiful thing he heard.
In Belém, PR consultants deny that Marcelo’s old tendency to indulge in excesses is worsening. They argue that the president has always been like this – and what has changed is the increased attention of journalists.
On the social network
The rift scene in Canada did not change our President Marcelo’s communications. It caused a change in television reporting. Patrolling began.
– Luís Paixão Martins (@lpmpessoal) November 4, 2023
Source: DN
