Patrícia Gilvaz, who led the procession of the Liberal Initiative (IL) with megaphone in hand, told Lusa that the incident took place in Marquês de Pombal, in Lisbon, when they were singing several songs, one of which was “25th of April always, fascism never again, April 25th always, communism never again”.
“Someone felt very uncomfortable, came to grab me by the arm, pulled me, pushed me and started shouting that he was a communist, that he had fought for our rights and he started insulting me, he started insulting everyone who was there singing for freedom, forgetting that April was made to sing precisely against all ideologies of a totalitarian nature”, he stated.
According to the deputy’s report, the individual was later removed by a person who accompanied him and also by IL militants, when “they began to realize what was happening and the pulling and pushing began to be more aggressive”.
Asked if she intended to file a complaint, Patrícia Gilvaz replied: “I don’t know you anywhere, I don’t know your name.”
“Therefore, I am not going to file a complaint against a stranger, who I cannot identify, but I regret that, in the 21st century, 50 years after the achievement of freedom, there are still situations like these in which they try to oppress and make a real attack on the freedom of expression”, he highlighted.
The deputy highlighted that, in the past, she had led the IL procession with a megaphone in her hand, and the party had also heard insults, but this year she felt “a greater aggressiveness”.
“It had never happened to us that they reached the point where they came to physically challenge us, and this year there really was this escalation of attitudes”, he said, considering that what happened to him yesterday was a “real attack on freedom of expression”, but stating that he did not will be intimidating.
“We will never remain silent in favor of freedom, never,” he said.
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“They can insult us and threaten us, as they always do (and yesterday they did it again). They can try to prevent us from participating, as they already did. They don’t know us. We don’t allow ourselves to be intimidated”, he said, adding that “freedom It’s not from the left, from those who appropriate the party, trying to exclude those who think differently”.
“Freedom belongs to everyone and we will continue to say it every day everywhere, on the street, without accepting any type of conditioning. We don’t stay on the couch”, he says.
In this publication, Rui Rocha addresses statements made by the PS general secretary at the parade – in which he declared that the crowd that filled Avenida da Liberdade is a sign that the “Portuguese people want the left in power” -, to remember that there is a month there were legislative elections.
“It is a clear sign of revanchism, intolerance and lack of respect for the votes of the Portuguese, which were heard just a few weeks ago”, it reads.
IL returned this year to taking part in the traditional commemorative parade of the 25th of April on Avenida da Liberdade, in Lisbon, similar to what it had done in 2023, after two consecutive years in which it promoted its own initiative.
Since its founding, IL has participated in these popular celebrations in 2018 and 2019, a parade that did not take place in 2020 due to the pandemic. In the following two years, the liberals had their own parade after the controversy with the commission promoting the parade commemorating the 25th of April.
