One of the central figures in PIDE’s leadership was António Barbieri Cardoso; the headquarters of political policy was on Rua António Maria Cardoso; The former DGS inspector who gave a sinister interview to Correio da Manhã this weekend in which he devalues torture is called Óscar Cardoso. Unpleasant. It is impossible not to associate this nickname with someone who persecutes us with the intention of harming us. In principle, this is why the expression “Ala, que é Cardoso” emerged. Anyway. I have no alternative but to go to the Registry Office to request an immediate change of my surname.
Óscar Cardoso lives in Ericeira, just like José Sócrates. After all, Ericeira is not just a destination of choice for digital nomads. Not only does it seduce people who have had enough of office rooms, it dazzles people who have had enough of interrogation rooms. He lives, according to Correio da Manhã, in a house decorated with portraits of Salazar. Despite everything, they are aesthetically bolder pieces than the paintings found in the village’s Airbnbs, such as those that read “Keep Calm and Carry On”. Interestingly, a potentially offensive slogan for Óscar Cardoso, since he contributed to the British resisting Nazi Germany.
Well, I digress. Óscar Cardoso’s interview is fascinating because, at 88 years old, his blue eyes only shine when he talks about his grandchildren. From grandchildren? No no. They shine when he talks about the torture methods of the political police. However, while he reports torture by the PIDE, he denies that there was any torture by the PIDE. “People were not tortured by PIDE, people were upset by PIDE.” Yes, yes, upset. It is even said that most of the PIDE agents were 8 years old and simply sat behind the political prisoners saying “Have we arrived? What now? Have we arrived? What now?”. At least it is clear that PIDE had legal advice. There are conventions that prohibit torture, but there is no treaty that makes torture illegal.
When asked how he managed to obtain confessions, Cardoso gets excited when he reports the application of electric shocks, which he describes as “jokes”. I don’t know how you can’t choose the PIDE profession in Kidzania. “It’s not torture, it makes you itch and so on”, the former agent reassures us. Obviously. I now understand the true meaning of the phrase “the PIDE was itching”. In fact, the dictatorship only fell because people were fed up with itching: on April 25th, a lot of pollen usually circulated and there were difficulties in importing antihistamines.
After a description of the inhumane methods that PIDE used in the colonies, the journalist asks “That in Angola. And in Portugal?”, as if she were doing an interview with Matias Damásio about the success of the latest concerts. Far from meddling in the reporter’s work, but a true public service would be to question what brand of melatonin gummies this man takes to sleep at night.
