Brazil’s culture minister told Lusa on Tuesday that it was “impossible to deny the need for reparations” by 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 reparations for Portugal, Margaret Menezes responded that “actions are recorded in history” and therefore “it is impossible to deny the need for reparations.” “.
On the sidelines of the opening of the exhibition “Arte no Jardim” at the Portuguese Embassy in Brasilia, dedicated to the 50th anniversary on April 25, a Brazilian official expressed the opinion that such an action on the part of the Portuguese authorities would be “an act of strength, courage and an example for new generations.”
“Here in Brazil, President Lula spoke about this issue, about reparation and recognition of what was done to the Afro-Brazilian people, to the black people who came here as slaves, including to the indigenous peoples,” he decreed.
Margaret Menezes also said that she was very happy when she heard the “courageous statements” of Marcelo Rebelo de Souza: “This reparation is important because it makes people great, especially in front of their new generations.”
The statements in question were made on April 23 during a dinner with foreign correspondents in Portugal: Marcelo said the country must “take full responsibility” for what it did during the colonial period and “pay for it”, which caused controversy reactions both in political and political circles. Portuguese parties, as in the former colonies.
The Portuguese government later stressed that “there was not and is not questioning any process or program of concrete action to” make reparations for Portugal’s colonial past, and said it would follow “the same line” as previous leaders.
The Brazilian Minister of Culture took part at the Portuguese Embassy in Brasilia in the opening of the exhibition “Arte no Jardim”, featuring 11 works by Portuguese and Brazilian artists, which aims to explore the issues and values associated with the 25th century. April.
“We know that the full exercise of citizenship, the protection of culture, the arts, permeate the defense of democracy. There is no democracy without culture, and there is no democracy without culture,” the Brazilian minister said in a speech, recalling how the image of carnations inside weapons marked his childhood.
On the other hand, the Portuguese Ambassador to Brazil, Luis Faro Ramos, opening the exhibition dedicated to April 25, emphasized that it was the Portuguese revolution that “will launch the so-called third wave of democratic revolutions.”
“Democracy is not something to be taken for granted, populism and various forms of anti-democratic reaction darken the horizon,” warned the Portuguese ambassador.
Luisa Cunha, Paula Rego, Marcio Carvalho, Pedro Barateiro, Fernanda Fragateiro, Rui Chafes and Ana Vidigal are the Portuguese artists represented in this exhibition, which also includes Brazilians Cecilia Mori, Flávio Cerqueira, Paulo de Paula and José María Martínez Zaragoza. , Spaniard, lives in Brazil.
The evening at the embassy in Brasilia also marked the celebration of Portuguese Language Day, officially celebrated on Sunday, in an event that also featured musician Dino d’Santiago.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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