On the campaign that seeks to rewrite the recent history of Portugal, namely the April Revolution course, around the passing away of Mário Soares, former Secretary General of the Socialist Party, Prime Minister and President of the Republic, we published the note from the PCP and a text from the «Avante!».
Truths and Lies on Soares’ death
The position of the PCP on the passing away of Mário Soares could not be more precise and coherent. The condolences sent by our Party to the Socialist Party and to his family were justifiable and clear and may not be used as an element for the re-writing of history.
The campaign developed in this regard and under the pretext of the death of Mário Soares, is an operation that envisages to establish a certain version of history but especially to intervene upon the current situation. It tries to re-write recent historical facts, like the revolutionary process which started on 25 April 1974, decolonization – attributing to Soares a coherence that he did not have – or ’ joining the then EEC, with deeply negative consequences.
This well orchestrated campaign aims at defining who are the good and the bad guys, the winners and the losers and to place the PCP in the wrong side of history. Or does anyone think that it is by coincidence that the overwhelming majority of those who were called to comment this death, used the propaganda of an invented “communist dictatorship” that supposedly the PCP wanted to impose on the Portuguese people after the 25th of April?
It is true that Mário Soares compromised the development of the progressive path of the April Revolution, and that he had the most serious responsibilities in the liquidation of the April achievements, of the Land Reform and of the Nationalizations, the attack on workers rights, the destruction of the national production and the reconstitution of monopoly groups that impose exploitation and our country’s impoverishment. It is true that ’s EU membership was a political choice for which Soares bears heavy responsibility that had nothing to do with the interests of our people and country.
It is around these truths that this campaign attempts to launch a mystifying haze. Because if some years ago there could still exist some doubts on the result of Portugal’s EU membership, on short-terms labour contracts and casual work, on privatizations or on the interruption of April’s liberation path, life nowadays has helped to clarify them. The more crystal clear truths become, the more powerful are the campaigns to conceal them. And these last days have showed exactly that.
Margarida Botelho, in «Avante!», 12th January 2017
Regarding the passing away of Dr. Mario Soares
Regarding the passing away of Dr. Mario Soares, the Portuguese Communist Party has already conveyed its condolences to the Socialist Party and to his family.
Mário Soares was a founding member and former General Secretary of the Socialist Party, a relevant personality of the country's political life, who took part in the struggle against the fascist dictatorship and in assisting political prisoners, who after April 25 [1974] held the highest political posts, namely serving as Prime Minister, as President of the Republic and as a member of the Council of State.
Recalling his anti-fascist past, the PCP also notes the profound and well-known disagreements which marked the relations of the PCP with Dr. Mário Soares, namely his prominent role in opposing the April Revolution's course of emancipation and its achievements, including national sovereignty.