Theatrical, noisy, excessive, a people’s tribunal talent in parliament that you rarely see (sometimes reminds us of her friend Natália Correia), authentic, communist militant from head to toe, combative, committed lawyer (who often defends poor clients from the country where he lived) childhood until his death, Setúbal).
She was so outrageous, especially in defending one of the causes of her life, namely the decriminalization of abortion, that Álvaro Cunhal one day called her to the headquarters of the PCP to tell her that she “talked too much about the Church spoke’ – although apparently , she didn’t. He talked too much to say it right, on the contrary.
“Rebellion alone will not get you there. I realized that it is important to respect the rules, with the colder thinking that characterized Álvaro Cunhal, and managed to curb more sudden moods.”
In 2013, when the PCP celebrated the centenary of the birth of its historic leader, Odete Santos DN told the story of that conversation. Cunhal essentially, as he reported, “did not like to confront Catholics” and asked them to show some restraint in their public interventions. I had already signed a book for her with the message: “For Odete Santos, rebel enough”. “I tried to follow the advice he gave me in that dedication. He was very right, because rebellion alone will not get you there. I realized that it is important to respect the rules, with the colder thinking that Álvaro Cunhal featured. , manage to curb more sudden moods,” said.
Odete Santos died yesterday at the age of 82 in Setúbal Hospital, where she had been admitted a few days ago. The news was announced by the PCP, in a note in which the Central Committee Secretariat expressed its “deep regret.”
“Their intervention in achieving new rights for women is of particular importance, namely the fight against clandestine abortion and the decriminalization of voluntary termination of pregnancy.”
In the same text, the communists recalled different phases of their lives, emphasizing both their love for theater (including participation as an actress in many plays, namely in the revue theater in Parque Mayer, in 2004 and 2005) and for literature (“in the streets of Setúbal said the poetry of Bocage”), as the essence of what made her most famous among the Portuguese, her activity as a parliamentarian: she was a deputy for almost 30 years and “stood out in the field of rights, freedoms and guarantees ” , or that is: “in defense of the rights of workers and women, issues he raised in conferences, debates, interviews and published articles”.
Odete Santos’ efforts in the fight for the decriminalization of abortion were of course not forgotten: ‘Her intervention in achieving new rights for women is of particular importance, namely the fight against clandestine abortion and the decriminalization of voluntary termination of pregnancy. [IVG]”, a matter “for which he was the main face in the Assembly of the Republic”.
This was in fact a struggle that started in February 1982 (when he signed the first PCP project) and lasted for about 25 years, from defeat to defeat until his final victory in 2007, when finally the IVG was decriminalized, after a second referendum in which it won “yes” (after a first, in 1998, in which it won “no”).
The victorious ‘yes’ referendum took place on 11 February 2007 and the following April, in a decision she described as ‘rational’ (she felt tired), she ended her parliamentary life: ‘It is not a political death, I want remain active, albeit in a different way,” he assured at the time.
The funeral will take place next Thursday at 3:30 PM at the Nossa Senhora da Piedade cemetery in Setúbal.
Source: DN
