“Portugal had difficulty becoming the center of global attention.” The Carnation Revolution in the eyes of foreign correspondents

Scars – those that have disappeared and those that are yet to heal

Since the 25th of April, Ruy Castro also sporadically returned to Portugal, until in 1999, “by mere chance”, he happened to be in Lisbon for the 25th of April celebrations. “It was the 25th anniversary of the revolution and no one seemed to pay much attention to the anniversary – I think the scars of the political struggle of those years still hurt.” That day, he joined “a small march on Avenida da Liberdade, made up of a few veterans who knew very well what the 25th of April had meant”.

The Brazilian draws a difference with current times, now that he comes to Portugal almost every year since his books began to be published here, including to see Bianca and his grandchildren. “I was there the other day and I was amazed by the 50th anniversary celebrations. It’s natural – the scars have disappeared, almost everyone from that time has died and, today, the 25th of April is in the history books.”

“After all these years, the ‘April captains’ who have now become generals, admirals and colonels, most of them in reserve, understand that, in essence, their program has been fulfilled”, considers Mário Dujisin. “Portugal is today a parliamentary democracy within the EU, which has meant immense development compared to what existed five decades ago, and Lisbon is no longer a hated colonial metropolis.”

The Chilean highlights, however, that the great mark left by the revolution is a “profound longing, a Portuguese word that is impossible to translate into other languages, because according to the poet Fernando Pessoa, ‘it is not a word, but a state of soul’. ” In Castilian, his mother tongue, “it can only be interpreted using an explanation that encompasses melancholy, nostalgia and yearning, this feeling that ‘all the time that passed was better’.”

Speaking of nostalgia, he invokes an emotional moment that gave substance to that unique word, during the funeral of Melo Antunes, in August 1999, in Sintra, immortalized by António Lobo Antunes, who had served with him in the war in Angola.

“When Melo Antunes died, I experienced one of the most moving and emotional situations of my life at his funeral,” wrote Lobo Antunes, quoted by Dujisin. “There were the boys who made the revolution, those brave captains, Ernesto’s companions, boys now 60 years old, who were crying like children. Tough men, who had proven their enormous courage, but who were crying inconsolably, because they hadn’t lost just one friend and a great man. They lost, above all, a comrade. It was very moving to see them so devastated. They regretted Ernesto’s death, but they also regretted many other things, those that had not happened.”

Asked about what remains to be done, 50 years after the 25th of April, Dennis invites everyone to consult the Economist magazine’s most recent Democracy Index, “which gives an idea of ​​what total democracies are, obviously led by the Scandinavian countries and which, strangely , classifies Portugal and Italy as ‘imperfect or defective democracies’, without including their neighbors, Spain and Greece, in the same classification”.

All of them overcame several flaws and gaps, in terms of freedom of the press, free elections, non-interference by the government in democratic processes, says the North American. But in the Portuguese case, perfection has not yet been achieved, as demonstrated by “the example of the medal for Spínola” awarded in secret by the President of the Republic. “Many foreigners think of Portugal as a beautiful country where they can immigrate, to live in a beautiful palace, safely, without major problems, but there are still problems to be resolved.”

50 years ago, “the much admired, almost bloodless revolution made it possible to move towards democracy, but the country remains divided, people on the left are dissatisfied with the 18% vote for Chega in the last elections and the fact is that the country went from an absolute majority for a minority government with variable geometry”, highlights Redmont, for whom the recent legislative elections in March are proof that “the political spectrum in Portugal, as in Italy, continues to have wounds to heal”.

“I’m very interested in seeing which people will march down Avenida da Liberdade this April 25th. How are they going to march? What will the posters say? How many people, how many political parties? And who would prefer to go to the beach? ‘Carnation Revolution’ has always been a catchy title, everyone remembers this revolution, it has a friendly appeal. Many journalists are preparing stories for this anniversary. Of course, with the wars we are going through, in Ukraine, in the Middle East and with another one heating up in Asia, with China and everything else, people may be somewhat distracted. But at an international level they will be paying attention. The world is paying attention.”