Today is Portugal’s 50th Independence Day

Today is the 50th Independence Day of Portugal, a country in southwestern Europe. On April 25, 1974, a military coup supported by ordinary Portuguese citizens ended 41 years of dictatorship and established a multi-party democracy.

It is one of the most important days in the historical Portuguese nation. The day is called Día do Liberdad in Portuguese, meaning Independence Day, and the revolution is called Día do Crabo or the Carnation Revolution.

Prolonged autocracy creates discontent among the people. As a result, an armed force was secretly formed from members of the Portuguese military and university students. Due to the active participation and consent of the people of the country, the puppet Prime Minister Marcelo Ketano, the successor of the then dictator Salazar, ended his power peacefully without much damage in just 7 days.

To round off the day, President Marcelo Rebelo de Soja will salute the Portuguese Armed Forces in a parade at the historic Palacio de Comercio in the capital, Lisbon, at nine o’clock in the morning. After that, the President, Prime Minister and all members of Parliament and special guests will participate in organizing a special session in the Parliament. Considering the importance of the day, there will be discussions in the Parliament and the Prime Minister and the President will give a directional address to the nation. In the meantime, the heads of various European Union countries have greeted the Portuguese citizens.

At three in the afternoon, a historic rally will be held like every year at Avenida Liverdad or Bangla in Bangla. It will be led by the soldiers who participated in that revolution. Leaders of various levels and organizations including ordinary citizens will participate in this rally holding the national flag and carnation flowers. Moreover, the vehicles used during that period will be included in this rally. Concerts have been organized in various cities including Lisbon, the port city of Porto.

It should be noted that the dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar assumed responsibility as the head of the Portuguese government in 1932, and in 1933, after writing a new constitution, he became the sole authority. He remained in power alone until 1968 before falling ill. His later incapacity succeeded Marcelo Caetano as Prime Minister, ending on 25 April 1974.

Bibarta/Masum