The president of the republic said on Tuesday that the people are “the overlord of April 25” and are “an effective guarantee of stability” and that in a democracy there is “always the possibility to create different paths”.
During the solemn commemoration of the 49th anniversary of April 25 at the Assembly of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa highlighted the different visions that existed at the time of the Carnation Revolution and spoke of the frustrations of those who did not see their expectations fulfilled during these decades of democracy.
“But this is a time of hope, because freedom and democracy, even if they bring us many disappointments – the feeling of lost time, of delay – always give us the hope that the dictatorship does not tolerate, which is hope for change.” he considered.
“In a dictatorship you are either for the dictatorship or you fight and overthrow the dictatorship. In a democracy there is always the possibility to create different paths, always imperfect, but there have always, always been during these 50 years”he added.
The head of state, right at the beginning of his intervention, addressed those who “would have liked April 25 not to have happened”, stating: “To those whose nostalgia and nostalgia are respected, it must be said that time does not go back. And what they see as April 24 in many of its global features really didn’t exist, it’s a repetition of history”.
At the end of the speech, referring generally to demonstrations for domestic and foreign policy reasons, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa defended that, regardless of the “real or dreamed number” of people who gather, “this pluralism is essential, it is part of the essence of democracy”, emphasizing that “in a dictatorship there would never be”.
And that is the reason for our hope, the knowledge that the truly supreme lord of April 25, of democracy and freedom, and therefore an effective guarantor of stability, has been calling himself the people for 50 years. And the people continue to choose, with a sense of state, with common sense, with moderation and with good education, in time, April 25th you will regret, for how much it innovated or maintained some time later “he claimed.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa talked about stability before, saying that since April 25, 1974, “there have been right-wing presidents with right-wing governments and left-wing governments, left-wing presidents with left-wing governments and right-wing governments, and there have been winners and losers”.
“And the realization of the dreams of each election act was also a realization that was often largely thwarted. In some cases, this led to the permanence of the legislature, in others, rarer because heavier, to its diminution,” he added .
In this speech, he mentioned as aspirations of the Portuguese “better democracy” and “more growth”, as well as “more equality, more social justice, better education, better health, better housing, better social solidarity, more environment, intergenerational vision, the role of women, achievements of young people and sectors that are excluded or ignored in society”.
According to him, the Portuguese also long for “less poverty and lack of social and territorial cohesion, this scourge that has unfortunately marked all periods, even the periods of greatest expansion of the last 50 years. of the poor”.
“We desired, we desired, because it is part of the logic of democracy and is imposed by the series of challenges that have occurred at an extremely accelerated pace, with dreams, aspirations or simply expectations, and in many cases the non-fulfilment of these dreams, aspirations and expectations, disappointing, disappointing, frustrating,” he added.
According to the head of state, the frustrated expectations for the “less young” make “it seem like a lost life”, while the “young people” feel “a life sacrificed from the beginning”.
Condemn selfishness towards immigrants
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa condemned the Portuguese who are “selfish towards the dramas of immigrants”, who “build Portugal, subtract for social security, create wealth”.
This statement provoked applause from all parties except Chega, with deputies from the banks on the left and from the PSD standing up to applaud.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa pointed out that “hundreds of thousands of brothers” from Portuguese-speaking countries live in Portugal, “tireless in what they have done for Portugal,” in reference to the welcome session for Brazil’s president, Lula da Silva, which took place just before.
The President of the Republic referred to “Brazilian brothers, Guinean brothers, Timorese brothers, Cape Verdean brothers, Sao Tome brothers, Angolan brothers, Mozambican brothers” and also “Goans, Macanese”.
“And I cannot fail to extend this to many others who also among us, coming from outside, non-Portuguese speakers, are building Portugal, contributing to social security, creating wealth, contributing to our future, empowering our historic vocation” , he added.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa defended that Portugal has a “national goal”, not just “to grow more economically, which is important, or to create more equality, or to reduce poverty or lack of social and territorial cohesion”, but to create a “platform between oceans, continents, cultures and peoples”.
“How can we, homeland of emigration – which, by the way, we must show solidarity with the dramas of our emigrants – be selfish towards the dramas of immigrants who belong to others?” he asked, receiving applause.
Portugal owes full apology and responsibility for colonization
The president of the republic defended that Portugal owes an apology, but above all must take full responsibility for exploitation and slavery in the colonial period.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa defended the presence of Brazilian President Lula da Silva in parliament “makes perfect sense”, because Brazil “was a forerunner in decolonization”.
“It also helps us to look back on Brazil. But it would also be possible with regard to all the colonization and decolonization, and take full responsibility for what we’ve done,” he reflected.
“It’s not just apologizing – no doubt – for what we’ve done, because apologizing is sometimes the easiest thing to do, you apologize, turn your back and the job is done. It’s the future of what we did in the past. have done, good and bad,” he defended.
According to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the colonization of Brazil also had positive factors, “the language, the culture, the unity of the Brazilian territory”.
“On the bad side, the exploitation of indigenous peoples, denounced by António Vieira, slavery, the sacrifice of the interests of Brazil and Brazilians,” he noted.
“A worst of our presence we must assume, just as we assumed the best of that presence. And the same can be said of the best and the worst, the worst and the best of our presence in the Empire throughout the colonization.” he added.
In this speech, the President of the Republic also left a message of condemnation for those who are “selfish towards the dramas of immigrants”.
Earlier, at the welcome session for Brazil’s president, the liberal initiative was represented only by the parliamentary leader, leaving the remaining seats empty, while Chega members held up posters against Lula da Silva and, when his speech was applauded, slap their hands on the couch.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who in March had already criticized right-wing parties for opposing Lula da Silva’s speech at the April 25 commemoration ceremony, returned today to defend that it makes perfect sense to associate this date with the president of Brazil.
Brazil “represents the first of the first decolonizations of Portugal”, in 1822, “April 25 began to exist because of decolonization” and therefore “today’s meeting makes perfect sense, which is an eternal meeting,” argued.
The head of state stressed that Lula da Silva “is the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the symbolic representative of a sister country, and not only or above all the holder of every historical moment” and was “further elected by those who had the right to choose, the Brazilian people – and not other peoples or larger or smaller parts of other peoples”.
Source: DN
