It is unfair to relate the 25th of April with today’s insufficiencies

Lídia Jorge was peremptory in stating that “It is unfair to relate the 25th of April with the insufficiencies we are experiencing”

In Loulé, the commemorative session of the fiftieth anniversary of the 25th of April of the Municipal Assembly, which took place on the morning of Thursday, 25th of April, was marked with hundreds of carnations covering the stage of the Cineteatro Louletano in the reception of the writer Lídia Jorge as guest of honor at this commemorative ceremony.

Subordinate to the motto “Heritage and Project”, Lídia Jorge developed a reflection on the country, half a century after the Carnation Revolution held on April 24, 1974.

At a time when many are pointing the finger at the “failures” of the Revolution, the author of “The Memorables”, – a work evoked in these celebrations -, was peremptory in stating that “It is unfair to relate the 25th of April with the insufficiencies we are experiencing”. “Only those who have no memory don’t know that we lived in a country that was practically in a medieval state. Therefore, 50 years is still not much time to replace what we lacked until 1974. Today we have major shortcomings, but these arise from the very serious international context in which we are immersed.”, he noted.

Regarding the moment that marked the contemporary history of Portugal, Lídia Jorge highlighted the fact that this revolution was symbolic, as it inaugurated a change that would become the “prototype of more than sixty revolutions and regime changes around the world”.

Also for this reason, the 25th of April is being celebrated in various parts of the world in an effusive way.

But if the April Revolution brought democracy, today we are witnessing, throughout the world, a “anti-democratization movement”, with the strong emergence of the extreme right which, in some cases, has led to the triggering of current wars.

In her speech, the renowned writer from Loulé also pointed out the failure of the current economic model as the cause of “tragedy of social injustice”. “This economic model is failing, we need to change it so that we can provide housing, food and comfort to everyone, not just a few”, he highlighted.

Admiration for others is also an important point in democratization, according to the guest speaker of this Assembly. “A democratic society cannot survive at all if we do not admire each other. As soon as someone is chosen, they are immediately scrutinized in the worst way. There is no democracy that can resist”, he said before what he called the “tribalization of society”.

April’s achievements in the Municipality of Loulé

The words of the Mayor of Loulé, Vítor Aleixo, were, firstly, for the Capitães de Abril, who “In an act of courage and generosity, they deposed a dictatorial and oppressive regime that had existed for almost 50 years”, but also for the people, the “thousands of Portuguese men and women who made it irreversible” the revolution that gave rise to democracy.

The mayor took advantage of the moment to note how the ideals of April and the work being carried out by the Municipality in favor of development in crucial areas such as housing, interior developmentamong others.

When it comes to housing, one of the main problems facing Portuguese society, the Municipality of Loulé acquired 51 scattered dwellings (7.7 million euros), 13 plots of land for housing construction (4.2 million euros) , with 53 households being relocated.

Continuing, Aleixo said: There are 691 people supported with the Municipal Rental Subsidy, at a time when there are 94 dwellings in the municipality under full construction, 51 dwellings in the design phase and 80 dwellings under construction by the private sector under the HCC regime – Housing at Controlled Costs .

Regarding the interior, it will benefit from the digital coverage ongoing, as well as one of the most emblematic projects, the Algarvensis Geopark. During the month of November, the application dossier for this aspiring geopark will be delivered to UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

Young Municipal Assembly is here to stay

The host of this session, the president of the Municipal Assembly, Carlos Silva Gomes, also took stock of the activities of the body he heads.

“Today, as we celebrate freedom and democracy, we have to reaffirm that participation and involvement are the key elements for the survival and success of our democracy and our life in society. Participating and creating conditions for participation is increasingly important“, he said.

In this sense, he pointed out the PDM review process as “the most participatory process in the history of this municipality”. It included the involvement and participation of mayors, associations, technicians and, even before the period of public discussion, the executive’s proposal incorporated several proposals and contributions from opposition councilors, Assembly deputies, board presidents and those responsible from different associations.

“This document will be central to resolving many problems, both regarding housing and within our municipality.”, assured Silva Gomes.

The involvement of young people in the democratic process and their approach to local power was another of the topics addressed by Silva Gomes. This municipal leader recalled the Youth Municipal Assembly held on April 23within the scope of the project MyPolis in Schools“a commitment to transmitting the values ​​of April to young people”.

“The high quality of the proposals and interventions made by our young people and their expressed concern for the present and the future of all of us is the great aspect to remember from this first Municipal Youth Assembly”, said the president. An initiative that, he assured, “came to stay, serving as a democratic reinforcement”.

Celebrations started with “The Memorables”

Remember that the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April in Loulé they started on the night of the 24th, with a session where they talked about the work of Lídia Jorge, “The Memorables”, through an analysis by the professor at the University of Coimbra, Carlos Reis, but also through the theatrical interpretation by the groups Scene Machine It is Moonlight Theater.
Testimonies were also heard from those who lived the 25th of April in a very special way, “live and in color” in the streets of downtown Lisbon.

There was no shortage of April music on both days, performed by Grupo Coral “Voices of Freedom” from the Loulé Conservatory of Music “Francisco Rosado”, Loulé Children’s Choir Group and Quarteira Choir Group, as well as a concert with Sérgio Godinhoin the center of Loulé, which was attended by thousands of people.