LISBON: Thousands marched in Lisbon on Friday to celebrate Portugal’s Carnation Revolution, defying a government order to postpone events during a mourning period for Pope Francis.
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and opposition leaders backed the public, rejecting the centre-right government’s call to delay the April 25 anniversary.
“What has the pope got to do with the revolution? Everything,” Rebelo de Sousa told parliament, citing the pope’s advocacy for “freedom” and “equality.”
“Today, the people are in the streets, while the government watches from the window,” said Socialist Party leader Pedro Nuno Santos.
Marchers along Avenue of Liberty criticised the postponement. “I do not agree with this at all,” said 77-year-old Fernanda Managao, carrying two carnations. “If the pope were still alive, he would have sent a message for this anniversary.”
Joao Batista, holding a banner reading “51 years ago I would not have been able to vote,” warned of the rise of extremism.
Vasco Lourenco, a retired colonel tied to the 1974 coup, called the delay “an offence to the memory of the pope.”
Portugal will hold legislative elections on May 18 after the government lost a confidence vote. – AFP
