25 April, 2024, marks the 50th anniversary of Portugal's Carnation Revolution. It ended about 41 years of dictatorship and began an era of democracy. The milestone is celebrated as the political landscape shifts, with the centre-right winning recent elections and the far-right gaining ground.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00More than half a century later, the voice of this Portuguese man still trembles with
00:06emotion when he speaks about his imprisonment by state police under the dictatorship of
00:12António de Oliveira Salazar.
00:30Fifty years ago, Portugal's Carnation Revolution put an end to four decades of dictatorship.
00:49In March, the country embarked on another significant chapter.
00:54After eight years of socialist government, support for the centre-right rose in the legislative
01:00elections, and the far-right Chega had a remarkable breakthrough.
01:06During the election campaign, Amnesty International issued some recommendations to all parties.
01:12Does this mean the achievements of the revolution are in danger of weakening?
01:42Asked Vasco Lourenço, a former captain in the Portuguese army who helped spark the rebellion.
02:12Some of the values, such as freedom, equality, freedom of speech, democratic basic rights,
02:32are very much ingrained into Portuguese society.
02:34I think that broad notion of democracy as a set of individual but also collective rights,
02:40I think that's not endangered by the fact that the far-right had 18% of votes in the last elections.