The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, recalled the words of Jorge Sampaio to summon Mário Soares as “the colossus of Portuguese democracy”on the day his book was simultaneously relaunched “more important”Portugal Gagged, written during exile, and on the day the former head of state’s 99th birthday was celebrated.
“Based on this book, he defined a road map for Portuguese democracy”said Marcelo in the closing speech of the ceremony to relaunch the fundamental work and Mário Soares, who died in 2017, was in charge of the National Press this time.
Turning to events, António Costa refused to speak as Prime Minister on the last day of full office before coming to power. He chose to wear exclusively the shirt of the Secretary General of the PS on the occasion of three inevitable milestones between this year and next year: the fiftieth anniversary of April 25, the centenary of Mário Soares and the half century that has passed since the founding of the Socialist Party. . Highlighting this last moment, which was celebrated in April this year, the PS leader recalled the governments of Mário Soares, highlighting the alliances with PSD and CDS. Referring to the agreement he signed in 2015 with the Bloco de Esquerda and the PCP, nicknamed “geringonça” at the time by former centrist leader Paulo Portas, António Costa recalled Mário Soares’ endorsement of this alliance. “For all those who say that the device was a betrayal of Mário Soares,” he began by saying, “he was still alive and one of the main proponents” of this government solution. remembered.
In a session that took place at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, full of figures from the socialist spectrum, such as Manuel Alegre, Jorge Lacão, João Soares, Jaime Gama, who presented this new edition of the book, Mário Soares was remembered with a different dimension depending on who summoned him.
In this edition, the foreword by historian Fernando Rosas sees the book as “the preface to Portuguese democracy”recalled project coordinator José Manuel dos Santos. ‘It is the opposition’s first story’ to the same extent as ‘a political weapon with unusual reach’.
Through the eyes of his son, João Soares, Mário Soares was remembered as “our dear father”, who “lived longer under a dictatorship than under a democracy”of which this book is not only a portrait, but also a portrait “a man of calm courage” It’s one of the “politicians most arrested” in this capacity. Thus, João adopted Soares, together with his sister, Isabel Soares, as the “only living witness of this book project”.
Portugal Amordaçado was written during Mário Soares’ exile, between 1968 and 1971, during a long journey between São Tomé, Rome and Paris. It first appeared on the streets in 1072, in a French edition, mainly because it would have been banned in Portugal.
As António Costa recalled, this book is fundamental not only for Portuguese democracy, but also for the Socialist Party itself, which was formally founded in April 1973. Regarding the party, Costa referred to it several times during the speech as a “stradivarius”which is also a legacy of Mário Soares.
Source: DN
