More than 85,000 participate in the March of “Protest, confidence and struggle”

The avenues of central Lisbon - from Campo Pequeno to Marquês de Pombal (around 2,3km distance) - were filled by a sea of people shouting several slogans against the right wing policy of the Government of the socialist Party and in support of CDU. “The CDU advances with all our confidence” and “April again with the power of the people” were some of the slogans that one could hear during this festive and intense demonstration of strength of PCP and CDU. In a symbolic gesture the participants showed a red card to the government and its policy shouting “Enough, enough… This policy belongs to the past”

The march expressed clearly the protest in face of the severe social and economical crisis that affects Portugal.

The March – in which participated the leaderships of the different components of CDU, all the CDU candidates for the Elections for the European Parliament and invited communist Parties from France, Greece, Czech Republic and Spain, among thousands of independent supporters of CDU – was a very strong and concrete expression of the protest and indignation that sweeps Portugal and, at the same time, a sign of firm belief in the capacity of the Portuguese workers and people to, by their struggle, build a rupture and a real change. The March of CDU stressed, with particular determination, that it is possible a better life with a stronger PCP and CDU.

The March of CDU ended with an historical mass rally. The around 90.000 people heard with particular enthusiasm the speeches of Ilda Figueiredo, first candidate of the CDU list for the European elections; Corregedor da Fonseca, on behalf of the leadership of the Democratic Intervention association; Heloísa Apolónia, member of the Executive Committee of the Ecologist Party “The greens” and of Jerónimo de Sousa, General Secretary of Portuguese Communist Party.

With this historical March, the CDU begins, with great enthusiasm, the official period of electoral campaign for the European Elections of June, 7th. The PCP organized, in the previous day to the March, a Seminar under the Theme “for a Europe of Peace and Cooperation, not to militarization of Europe, no to the Lisbon Treaty” in which participated several invited representatives of communist and progressist parties from Cyprus (AKEL); Czech Republic (CPBM); France (PCF); Germany (Die Link); Greece (KKE) and Spain (PCE).

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