On behalf of the Portuguese Communist Party, I would like to greet all those present here and express special thanks to the artists and all those involved in the cultural event that we had the privilege of attending at this memorial session, at a time when tomorrow, September 12, marks 100 years since the birth of Amílcar Cabral.

A greeting to the diplomatic representatives of the Angolan, Cape Verdean, Chinese, Cuban, Mozambican and East Timorese states, who honoured us with their presence.

There are some events that, because of their historical significance and the lessons they hold, will never be forgotten. Such is the case with the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively. Bombings that immediately caused around 200,000 deaths and left an unspeakable trail of destruction and suffering.

The presidential elections in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela were an important democratic moment, in which millions of Venezuelans took part and whose results reaffirmed popular support for the Bolivarian process, which is all the more significant when it is expressed in the context of decades of resistance to the successive interference and destabilisation operations promoted by the USA and the European Union against Venezuela.

The early parliamentary elections, held on June 30 and July 7 in France, were marked by a new setback for the political forces that have supported President Macron's neoliberal government, an increase in the number of elected members of the "New Popular Front" electoral coalition, which came first in the second round of the elections, and an increase in the number of elected members of the far-right "Rassemblement National", which did not, however, achieve a majority.