Jornal de Leiria – Memorial in Leiria perpetuates courage and struggle of political prisoners and constituent deputies

A memorial of “courage, struggle, resilience, hope, determination, justice, equality and freedom”. It was in this way that the mayor of Leiria, Gonçalo Lopes, defined the monument in honor of political prisoners and constituent deputies for the district inaugurated on Wednesday in the city and which aims to be “a tribute” to all those who helped us. bequeathed freedom”, but also a “symbol of our commitment to democratic values”.

Installed on Vasco da Gama Street (behind the Caixa Geral de Depósitos), the memorial has 245 names of people from the municipality or who carried out activity here in opposition to the regime and who, between 1926 and 1974, were arrested by the political police. One side of the monument also contains the names of the 13 constituent deputies who performed functions for the district and who participated in the drafting and approval of the Constitution.

It is a monument that “fixes for future memory” the names of those who “fought and risked their lives for freedom” and those who contributed to “confirming democracy”, highlighted Acácio de Sousa, president of the Executive Committee for the Celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the 25th April in Leiria.

At the time, the person responsible justified the location chosen for the monument because it was a place of passage and, in this way, “give visibility” to the memorial, but also because of its symbolic nature, since the Hotel Central was located on Vasco da Gama Street. (current Banco Montepio building), which was a meeting place for opponents of the regime. It was also in this area that some lawyers who were leaders of the opposition in Leiria and Atneu, which had “many oppositionists” in its governing bodies, were based.

“The fight is not over”

The inauguration of the monument was attended by five of the honored political prisoners (Jorge Cadete Prates, Joaquim Vieira, Leonor Baridó, Alberto Costa and Maria Helena Espada Santos) and four former constituent deputies elected by the district (Álvaro Órfão, Pedro Lagido, Aires Rodrigues and Abílio Lourenço).

Joaquim Vieira, a journalist from Leiria who was detained due to his involvement in student movements, spoke on behalf of political prisoners. “I was in prison for almost a year and a half, but I don’t consider myself a hero or a martyr. It was the result of circumstances, of what was happening in the associative movement in Lisbon”, he recalled, also making reference to his exile in Paris, where he was on April 25, 1974.

“That morning I went to Alberto Costa’s house to borrow a suit so I could respond to a job application as a receptionist at a hotel. We already knew that something was happening in Portugal, that the troops were on the streets. A ray of hope appeared”, said Joaquim Vieira, who then made the connection between the past and the present, stating that “the fight is not over”.

The journalist argued that, despite society being “completely different” today and we live in democracy, we must not forget threats such as wars and climate change. “There are two objectives that we need to continue fighting for and we need to mobilize the younger generations, everyone deep down, towards this”, he stated.

When “even the dead voted”

Speaking on behalf of constituent deputies, Álvaro Órfão recalled what happened on October 28, 1973, the day of legislative elections, which was marked by clashes in Marinha Grande. “A whole day of police charges, dogs running after people, serious beatings”, in which “the unusual happened”, with “one dead voting”.

“On that day, at the time of a funeral [na Praça Stephens], the police loads eased a little. At that moment, one of the members of the electoral board said to another member: ‘carry this one that will pass’”, reported Álvaro Órfão.

The constituent deputy, who was also president of the Marinha Grande Chamber, said that, after the 25th of April, when consulting the Civil Government archives, he confirmed that the lists of those who voted that day in the municipality included not only his name, but also that of Vitorino Vieira Dias and Rui Couceiro, who, with him, had “been being beaten by the police, and that of “dr. Anakim, who was buried that day.”

“It was proof of what the opposition said, that at that time even the dead voted”, said Álvaro Órfão, saying that a complaint was made for electoral fraud, accepted in court, but ended up archived “due to an amnesty” .

Episodes aside, the constituent praised the great achievement of April, freedom, considering that “it was worth it, over these 50 years, to have kept the red carnation in our chest and in our hearts”.

The president of the Municipal Assembly of Leiria, António Sales, made the same apology, highlighting the duty to pay homage to those who fought for freedom. It is, he says, “a favor to repair many injustices” and a “legacy” for the new generations, so that “they recognize and do not forget these celebrations and these resisters”.

“I hope that this monument offers, from now on, to those who pass by, an excuse for a moment of reflection and inspiration, which constitutes a symbol of our commitment to democratic values ​​and a tribute to all those who, through their struggle, they bequeathed freedom”, concluded the present from the Leiria Chamber.