Ricardo Rio says that dignification, decentralization and dialogue are “fundamental to fulfilling April values”

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April, the president of Braga City Council, Ricardo Rio, warned of the need to “continue the process of transformation that the Carnation Revolution brought to the country”.

In the commemorative session, held at Theatro Circo, Ricardo Rio pointed to dignification, decentralization and dialogue as “the three new D’s that are necessary to fulfill the values ​​of April”.

“We cannot talk about democracy if we are constantly calling into question institutions and undermining the credibility of all those who work in them”, stated the mayor, in the session promoted by the Municipal Assembly.

With regard to decentralization, he added that “it is necessary to give more power to the Local Authorities and reconfigure the administrative map of the State”. And, alongside promoting dialogue at an international level, the mayor also highlighted the importance of dialogue at a local level. “We cannot accept that xenophobia and racism are encouraged because Portugal is, par excellence, an integrative country”, he stressed, stressing that it is necessary to “return hope to the Portuguese”.

Along with the president of the City Council and the president of the Municipal Assembly, Hortense Santos, the solemn session included interventions by the leaders and/or representatives of the parliamentary groups of the Municipal Assembly, namely João Marques (PSD), Gonçalo Pimenta de Castro ( CDS-PP), Pedro Borges de Macedo (PPM), Nuno Durval Silva (Aliança), Palmira Maciel (PS), João Baptista (CDU), António Lima (BE), Márcia Ferraz (Chega), Tiago Teixeira (PAN), Bruno Machado (Liberal Initiative), João Oliveira (Group of Presidents of Parishes/Parish Unions elected on independent lists) and Ricardo Silva (Grupo Freguesia de S. Victor).

The special guest of the session was Margarida Isaías, president of the Academic Association of the University of Minho, who left a testimony of the way students mark the 50th anniversary of April 1974. “As a young student, I celebrate this date together with two others. March 24, 1962, the date on which we were banned from celebrating National Student Day, and April 17, 1969, when the dictatorship refused to speak to us. Two fundamental dates in the fight for Education, Freedom and Democracy”, she stated.

The session also featured two musical moments performed by the group “Mulheres do Minho” and the Bomfim Foundation Choir.