Parade on the Avenue showed that the population is attentive in defense of democracy

The President of the Republic considered today that the parade on April 25th on Avenida da Liberdade showed that the population is alert in defense of democracy and appealed to young people to be more politically active.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa spoke to students from secondary schools and universities, in the former royal arena, next to the Belém Palace, in Lisbon, during a debate class on the 25th of April, which included the participation of general António Ramalho Eanes, first President of the Republic elected in democracy.

Referring to Thursday’s parade on Avenida da Liberdade, in Lisbon, on the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April, the head of state stated: “It’s a form of political demonstration. It’s saying: we want untouchable freedom and democracy , and we want better democracy and we want better freedom, and we are careful that no one undermines our freedom and our democracy”.

“That is your role today”, defended Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, addressing the young people.

The head of state encouraged today’s young people to act together: “Find out where you should act, where you are most useful to act, and do it together, not individually.”

“Find others with whom you can work together and work for change, some more to the right, some more to the left, some higher up, some lower down, but work for change”, he reinforced.

The President of the Republic pointed to housing, education and culture as possible areas for young people to act for change and told them that “all of this is politics” and that “each one is political”.

“Claim more power, act more, be more present”, he asked.

“The 25th of April was made by young people aged 20 and 30. Now there is no need for a new revolution, but we need more young people aged 20 and 30, and even before that, to take up political participation, so as not to leave a void, so that later you don’t have to complain about the voids they left”, he considered.

At the end of this debate class, moderated by journalist Maria Flor Pedroso, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa declared: “Today you had a historic experience. History does not repeat itself. Make your History”.

Ramalho Eanes also commented on the parade on Avenida da Liberdade, declaring that “if only the nostalgic people were at the demonstration, I would be very worried”, but that the presence of “so many young people” showed that the 25th of April “is the future”.

In the opinion of the former President of the Republic, “democracy is healthy” in Portugal, where there is “real freedom” and not just formal freedom, “supported by a pluralist constitutional regime, a democratic rule of law and indisputably free elections”.

As for the future, Ramalho Eanes said that when asked if “democracy is in danger” he responds that “democracy is always in danger — but it is not in an immediate period nor is it in a near period” and believes that “European democracies, namely the Portuguese will have a future and will end up denying this bad judgment”.

Regarding the period in which he was head of state, from 1976 to 1986, he said that the greatest difficulty he faced was when he sought to “parliamentarize the regime” and, challenged to talk about the founder of the PSD and former prime minister Francisco Sá Carneiro, He described him as “an intelligent man, with great political preparation”, who “was a patriot”, but made “a single accusation” against him: he was in too much of a hurry”.

According to Eanes, Sá Carneiro “understood that democracy was not working well” and “tried to change things through early elections, through the presentation of a program in which semi-presidentialism would be accentuated, in which economic problems would be answered” .

“He intended to resolve all of this, but without respecting the Constitution and naturally modifying the regime”, he continued. “I naturally could not accept that, and our opposition, frontal, assumed opposition, took place there and resulted fundamentally from that”, he stated.

In his opinion, however, Sá Carneiro “served the country” and “his position of impatience” even “caused things in Portugal to speed up and democracy to become institutionalized more quickly”.

“He is a man who, therefore, naturally deserves the respect and homage of the Portuguese”, he concluded.