The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, addressed the country this Monday with the traditional New Year’s message at the Belém Palace.
“Have a great 2024 to all of you. A year ago I told you that 2023 could be a decisive year in the world, in Europe and in Portugal, and so it was,” he began.
“It was clear that the war in Ukraine would continue. It was clear that while wars continued, the poorest, the most dependent and the most isolated suffered the most,” he added.
In Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that “it was clear that effective access to health, housing, education and social solidarity is a key element of justice and growth” and assured that the population was attentive and motivated for the March elections. “We all need to be attentive and motivated for the March elections,” he said.
“The year 2023 ended with more difficult challenges than those that began. 2024 will be what the voters of democracy in Portugal in March and in Europe in June want,” he assured.
“Because we voted in the European elections, for these elections, to understand what the immediate future will be like in Europe, in fear, in openness and in economic recovery,” he added.
In a message that lasted about seven minutes, the President of the Republic recalled that 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the April 25 revolution that overthrew the Estado Novo dictatorship, and that “half a century ago, at this time, 1 January From 1974 to the end of 1973, the accounts in Portugal were no longer accurate, the first oil shock shook the economy, the situation in Africa quickly deteriorated, and the number of emigration exceeded one million.”
“Half a century ago, with censorship and without freedom of organization and political action, it was impossible to vote freely, and those who could vote were only two million out of about ten. And those who voted were all from the same party, which was called the political association,” he noted, before calling for voting in the regional elections in the Azores, legislative and European elections.
The head of state said that he knows that “voting is not everything,” but emphasized that “without voting there is no freedom and democracy.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Souza hopes that the new year will be “a year of great hope” and guarantees that “voting is not everything, but without voting there is no freedom and democracy.”
“It is people and only people who give the most orders, make the most decisions, thinking about their future, the future of Portugal,” he concluded.