Brazilian minister says there is an undeniable “need for reparation” for Portugal for the colonial period

Margareth Menezes also said that she was very happy when she heard Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s “courageous statements”

The Brazilian Minister of Culture told Lusa, on Tuesday, that “there is no way to deny the need for reparation” for Portugal for the colonial period.

When asked about the debate raised by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, about the need for Portuguese reparations, Margareth Menezes considered that “the actions are recorded in history” and therefore “there is no way to deny the need for reparation” .

On the sidelines of the inauguration of the “Arte no Jardim” exhibition, at the Portuguese Embassy in Brasília, to mark the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April, the Brazilian official considered that such an action on the part of the Portuguese authorities would be “an action of strength, of courage and an example for new generations”.

“Here too, in Brazil, President Lula has spoken about this issue, of reparation, of recognition, for what was done to the Afro-Brazilian people, to the black people who came here as slaves, also in relation to indigenous peoples”, he stated.

Margareth Menezes also said that she was very happy when she heard Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s “courageous statements”: “This reparation is important because it makes a people great, especially in front of their new generations”.

At issue are statements made on April 23, during a dinner with foreign correspondents in Portugal, Marcelo stated that the country should “take full responsibility” for what it did in the colonial period and “pay the costs”, triggering diverse reactions both in political parties Portuguese, as in the former colonies.

Later, the Portuguese Government stressed that “there was and is not in question any process or program of specific actions with the purpose” of reparation for the Portuguese colonial past and defended that it will be guided by “the same line” as previous executives.

The Brazilian Minister of Culture participated, at the Embassy of Portugal in Brasília, in the inauguration of the exhibition “Arte no Jardim”, which presents 11 works by Portuguese and Brazilian artists, which aims to explore issues and values ​​associated with the 25th of April.

“We know that the full exercise of citizenship, the defense of culture and art permeates the defense of democracy. Without culture there is no democracy and there is no democracy without culture”, said the Brazilian minister in her speech, remembering how the image of carnations inside weapons marked her childhood.

On the other hand, the Portuguese ambassador to Brazil, Luís Faro Ramos, when launching the exhibition that celebrates the 25th of April, stressed that it was the Portuguese revolution that “would trigger the so-called third wave of democratic revolutions”.

“Democracy is not a given, populism and various forms of anti-democratic reaction darken the horizon”, warned the Portuguese ambassador.

Luísa Cunha, Paula Rego, Márcio Carvalho, Pedro Barateiro, Fernanda Fragateiro, Rui Chafes and Ana Vidigal are the Portuguese artists featured in this exhibition, which also includes the presence of Brazilians Cecília Mori, Flávio Cerqueira and Paulo de Paula and José Maria Martinez Zaragoza , Spanish based in Brazil.

The night at the embassy in Brasília was also marked by the celebration of Portuguese Language Day, officially marked on Sunday, in an event that also included the participation of musician Dino d’Santiago.