Esposende inaugurates a mural in honor of the former presidents of the Municipal Assembly

The Municipality of Esposende marked the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April with the inauguration of a mural evocative of the presidents of the Municipal Assembly of Esposende since the 25th of April 1974.

During the extraordinary session of the Municipal Assembly that followed, the president of the Municipality, Benjamim Pereira claimed that it was “time to honor all those who, in many different ways, fought for Freedom”, warning of the fact that “the routine trivialization of a political event of profound meaning, opening up the possibility of this date generating disinterest and misunderstanding among new generations”.

Freedom Day dawned with the raising of flags, with the presence of soprano Teresa Nunes and the Antas Wind Ensemble who echoed the national anthem and other songs from the Revolution.

At the Rodrigues Sampaio Municipal Forum, transformed into the House of Democracy as it hosts the Municipal Assembly, tribute was paid to all those who presided over this municipal body since April 25, 1974, namely António Baptista Marques Henriques, Manuel Meira Gonçalves Pereira , Jorge Dias Félix de Araújo, Luís Gonzaga Eiras de Azevedo, Rosa Cardoso Salgado Torres da Fonseca, António Fernandes Ribeiro, Alberto Queiroga Figueiredo, António Fernando do Couto dos Santos, José Agostinho Veloso da Silva, Carlos Manuel Pires Martins da Silva.

“On behalf of the population of Esposende, Thank you!” This emphasis by the President of the Municipal Council of Esposende preceded the defense of the thesis that “Local Power is the greatest victory of the 25th of April”, maintaining that “the proximity of the exercise of municipal management allows, together with the population, to build a fairer and more participatory society”.

Benjamim Pereira presented two examples experienced in this Municipality as “superlative models of popular participation”. “During the works at Largo Rodrigues Sampaio and Praça D. Frei Bartolomeu dos Mártires and the proposed intervention on Cedovém beach, in Apúlia, we opened the topics to public discussion and invited the population to present proposals for each of the situations”, he said. he.

Speaking about History with an eye on the future, Benjamim Pereira recalled that the 25th of April 1974 is a date of great importance for Portugal “because it gave the people back a healthy confidence in themselves, it promised the Portuguese respect for rights, freedoms and guarantees inherent to human dignity and guaranteed social justice. In short, the 25th of April made the institutionalization of democracy in Portugal possible.”

After 50 years and faced with the challenges facing Democracy, Benjamim Pereira asked “What has become of the fraternity that filled this country? What happened to the enthusiasm with which the challenge of building a better country was faced? What happens to tolerance and respect? What happens to the housing we decided to build for everyone? What happens to the health we decide to improve? What happens to the education we set out to promote? What is it about old age that we force ourselves to protect?” “In fact, there are too many questions that remain unanswered and increasing concern regarding the April values. We achieved democracy without violence or blood. In the difficulties that affect us today, we must find, in the values ​​of April, the reason to unite in favor of greater objectives”, he added.

The president of the Municipal Assembly of Esposende, Carlos Martins da Silva, warned that “more than a date, April 25, 1974 represents a process and is the biggest event in a sequence of events that allowed the establishment of a liberal democracy, representative and plural, with freedom of expression, in which everyone counts. In this sequence of events, I cannot fail to mention two other dates, dates of events that consolidated our democracy, April 25, 1975, the date of the first free elections in our country for the Constituent Assembly and November 25, 1975, a landmark in the consolidation of democracy”.

Carlos Silva recalled that “these celebrations are above all a warning to all of us that democracy is never guaranteed and that we must get involved and contribute on a daily basis to its rooting and vitality, a task always unfinished” and signaled that “the citizens who are part of local government bodies have this added responsibility”.

Municipal deputy Anabela Solinho highlighted the achievements that April brought to women, “although they were never definitive” and Marcelino Cunha recalled that the celebration of the 25th of April takes place out of respect for the past “like the 11th of March and the 25th of November 1975” .

Deputy Marta Viana, from the CDS, highlighted “the consolidation of a vibrant democracy” and deputy Tito Evangelista, from the PS, decided to point out that “democracy is at risk, due to the emergence of radicalism and extremism, but essentially due to the populism that exists in the day to day.” António Morgado (PSD) believes it is important to “recognize the effort of the generation that, having lived under a dictatorship, did everything to provide the conditions for their children to grow up in freedom and with rights”.

Vítor Quintão, representing the presidents of the Junta, claimed that the 25th of April 1974 became a country “in which people’s choices became the basis of the community’s decisions”.