Jornal de Leiria – April 25th: Young people took up their voices to affirm that they are active in political life

Seven young people, representing each political party with a seat in the Municipal Assembly (AM) of Leiria, spoke out today at the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April to affirm that they are active in political life and that their generation needs more spaces of dialogue.

The solemn session that marked the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April in Leiria took place this morning, at Teatro Miguel Franco, and each party represented in AM chose one of its young members to debate the freedom achieved and the needs of their peers.

Representing the Socialist Party (PS), Clara Gomes said that “there is, among all Portuguese, some distrust in politics and political parties”.

However, since the last legislative elections, young people feel “more active” in the world of politics. “Not in such a formal participation, through party membership, but through more informal participation, with demonstrations and petitions”, he exemplified.

The same opinion was shared by Francisco Malheiro, from the Liberal Initiative, when he stated that “unconventional participation has increased significantly”, with “discussion in online and in-person forums” or with “student associations”.

“This shows that young people are not disinterested. Maybe the problem is not demand, but supply. It is up to us all to present an image that dignifies political life, as a way of attracting young people”, she considered.

On the side of the CDS-PP/Partido da Terra coalition, João Filipe Carreira reinforced the importance of interaction on social networks, where young people consult the ideas of each political party. “Young people are actually more interested. There is a lack of more initiatives like these,” he said.

This opinion was common across the political spectrum in the debate, which was moderated by Mónica Martins, journalist at SIC Notícias.

In turn, Francisco Mota Pedro, from the Social Democratic Party (PSD), considered it important to place young people at the center of decision-making. “It is very important that we think differently, give voice to our opinion, but also have the opportunity to implement our decisions”.

Luís Fernandes, from Chega, also pointed out the way parties communicate as one of the obstacles to youth participation. “Political parties themselves must reflect on whether their way of communicating with the new generation has been the best,” he maintained.

European elections in debate

The upcoming European elections entered the debate and Frederico Dias Pereira, from Bloco de Esquerda, stated that the “bureaucratic monster that the European Union has become” is one of the causes for European politics to be “the poor relative of legislative acts in Portugal ”.

Representing the PCP, Duarte Raposo outlined some of the measures taken in the European Parliament, such as “bribes” and “the bologna issue”, which directly influence the country and “hinder the democratic participation of young people”.

People’s Festival until Sunday

In this solemn session, the president of the Municipal Assembly of Leiria, António Lacerda Sales, and the president of the Municipal Council of Leiria, Gonçalo Lopes, also spoke. All the leaders of the AM party benches also participated in the ceremony reminiscent of the Carnation Revolution, through a video where they spoke about the values ​​of April.

In Leiria, the celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of the 25th of April included the raising of the national flag at the Paços do Concelho building and a parade of Philharmonic Bands to Fonte Luminosa. On Rua Correia Mateus, next to the Miguel Franco Theatre, a plaque was unveiled commemorating the presence, in the city, of Colonel Ernesto de Melo Antunes.

The celebrations of this anniversary continue with the People’s Festival, with multiple activities that take place until next Sunday.