Portugal has to pay the costs of slavery in Brazil, says the country’s president | World

Portugal was responsible for a series of crimes against slaves and indigenous people in Brazil in the colonial era and must pay for it, said Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

In a conversation on Tuesday night (23) with foreign correspondents, Rebelo de Sousa also said that suggested to his government to make reparations for slavery and stated that his country “assumes full responsibility for the damage caused”, as massacres of indigenous people, the slavery of millions of Africans and looted goods.

“We have to pay the costs (for slavery). Are there actions that were not punished and those responsible were not arrested? Are there goods that were looted and were not returned? Let’s see how we can repair this”, he declared.

In the conversation, however, the Portuguese president did not specify how the reparation will be carried out.

Over more than four centuries, at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped, forcibly transported long distances, mainly by European ships and traders, and sold into slavery.

Those who survived the journey ended up working on plantations in the Americas, mainly in Brazil and the Caribbean, while others profited from their labor.

Portugal trafficked almost 6 million Africans, more than any other European nation, but has so far failed to confront its past and little is taught about its role in transatlantic slavery in schools.

Instead, Portugal’s colonial era, during which countries such as Angola, Mozambique, Brazil, Cape Verde and East Timor, as well as parts of India, were subjected to Portuguese rule, is often seen as a source of pride.

The idea of ​​paying reparations or taking other action for transatlantic slavery has been gaining traction around the world, including efforts to establish a special tribunal on the issue.

Activists say reparations and public policies to combat inequalities caused by Portugal’s past, including systemic racism, are essential.

Rebelo de Sousa said last year that Portugal should apologize for transatlantic slavery and colonialism, but stopped short of offering a full apology. He declared on Tuesday that acknowledging the past and taking responsibility for it was more important than apologizing.

“Apologizing is the easy part,” he said.