Right and left face the CDS-PP diploma to always celebrate November 25th.

Parliamentary left and right clashed on Tuesday over CDS’s decision to mark November 25, 1975, annually, although the PS accepts IL’s intention to mark the date on its 50th anniversary.

The CDS-PP’s decision to have 25 November 1975 celebrated annually by the Assembly of the Republic received clear support from the PSD, CDS-PP, the Liberal Initiative (IL) and Chega, but the vice-president of the PS Parliamentary Group, Pedro Delgado Alves, rejected this prospect “to put on the same plane” from the point of view of historical memory April 25, 1974 and the military operation under the leadership of General Ramalho Ines under an already existing democracy.

The lesser consensus among the right-wing parliamentary benches is explained by Cega’s initiative that November 25 should become a national holiday, and the PSD, through MP Bruno Vitorino, has dissociated itself from this proposal.

Over the course of about two hours, several lively debates took place around the historical significance of the events of November 25, 1975, mainly between the SDS, PSD and Chega, against the PCP and the Bloc de Esquerda.

CDS-PP parliamentary leader Paulo Nuncio presented his debate on November 25, praising the actions of military personnel such as Jaime Neves and former President of the Republic Ramalho Eanes. He also praised civilians such as the then leaders of the PS, PPD and CDS, respectively Mário Soares, Francisco Sá Carneiro and Freitas do Amaral. In contrast, Paulo Nuncio spoke of the defeat of the far left and the ongoing revolutionary process (PREC), avoiding the “path to totalitarianism” in Portugal.

Chegi Bench Chairman Pedro Pinto called on the CDS-PP to support the idea of ​​making November 25 a national holiday. And he accused the PKP of declaring the CDA an illegal (Christian Democratic Party) and seeking to “establish a Soviet dictatorship, invading farms and pointing guns at the heads of farmers.”

In a diametrically opposed view, PCP deputy António Filipe accused parliamentary law of seeking to rewrite history and attempting to “whitewash” the Estado Novo regime, noting that agrarian reform continued after November 25 and that the Constitution itself was approved by the Communists. in April 1976, “which was opposed by the CDS.”

António Filipe suggested that, in his view, 25 November 1975 opened the way to a “counter-revolutionary process”, but stressed that his party’s goal was to “prevent civil war” in Portugal and that the communists were still the target of political violence even democracy, reminiscent of “bomb attacks” and acts of destruction of the headquarters of the PKP.

For the Bloc Esquerda, Joana Mortagua defended the thesis that whoever tries to value November 25th “says April 25th, but…”

“April 25, 1974 was a people’s revolution, it was carried out against colonialism, against the big classes and against the economic regime of monopolies. The people were the protagonists in the revolutionary explosion. On April 25, a new historical entity was built. “, he spoke.

According to the leader of the Left Bloc, on November 25, the parliamentary right wants to “rehabilitate the Estado Novo and demonize the current revolutionary process (PREC).”

“Those who want to celebrate November 25 are those who do not have the courage to celebrate May 28, 1926,” which was established by the Estado Novo regime, he added.

PSD deputy Bruno Vitorino praised the CDS-PP initiative, saying that “democracy and freedom did not fall from the sky”, that April 25, 1974 “has no owners” and that it was November 25, 1975 that strengthened the democratic regime. in Portugal.

Regarding the PREC period, Bruno Vitorino recalled episodes such as the siege of the Assembly of the Republic, the occupation of lands and others, but also mentioned the supposed current threats to freedom emanating from those who want to expose “children to social influence”. experiments” in schools and those who seek to impose a “culture of activism” typical of the “radical left, often paid for by our taxes.”

During this period of debate, the representative of the Livre, Rui Tavares, who throughout the debate defended the need for an analysis divorced from history and rejected the equivalence between April 25 and November 25, asked Bruno Vitorino if he knew on which side the MRPP acted during the PREC, remembering that some of the future PSD leaders later left the MRPP.