The president of the republic this Wednesday gave a score between 14 and 17 to Portuguese democracy, justifying the lower score with the fact that there were expectations that were not met.
“Compared to the situation before April 25, I would give it a 17. In relation to the expectations that are skyrocketing and higher among the younger people, I would give it a 14,” said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, in response to a young student who asked the head of state to rate Portuguese democracy on a scale of 0 to 20.
Marcelo was speaking at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the III Congress of the Democratic Opposition, which began Wednesday morning at the University of Aveiro.
The President of the Republic justified the lower score with the fact that on April 25, the elderly had “a huge dream” and that many of them currently feel “in a ghetto”, because there were things that “are ready from a certain moment”.
On the other hand, Marcelo says that the young people “don’t understand much about the current situation, asking how the old people left it in this situation, we are still in this situation and it is not getting better any faster”.
During his speech, the Head of State started with a history lesson on the key moments in Aveiro regarding the building of democracy in Portugal and took the opportunity to explain to young people that April 25 “didn’t fall from the sky in a tumble”.
In a second moment, the chairman answers several questions from the audience, mainly consisting of young students, on various topics such as education, regionalization and euthanasia.
The initiative, organized by the Commemorative Commission of April 25, aims to evoke the III Congress of the Democratic Opposition that took place in Aveiro between April 4 and 8, 1973, with the aim of drawing up a common program and uniform lists to against the regime’s party in the upcoming election campaign.
“From Memory to the Future: The Third Congress of the Democratic Opposition, 50 Years Later” is the motto of this initiative that will take place this Wednesday and Thursday in Aveiro and Lisbon.
In Aveiro, the event will focus on the future and will be curated by Carlos Jalali and Patrícia Silva, professors at the university.
In Lisbon, at the Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB), there are two sessions dedicated to memory, on the afternoon of April 19 and 20, curated by Rui Bebiano and Aniceto Afonso.
Source: DN
