The President of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores (ALRAA), Luís Garcia, on Monday stressed the importance of keeping the memory and values of April 25 alive, arguing that “Democracy and Autonomy require attention, participation and continuous defense”. “At a time when so many uncertainties are wavering, it is essential to remember that April lives on in every gesture of citizenship, in every collective decision, in every voice that is heard,” argued the Speaker of the Assembly at the opening of the last meeting of the ‘Conversations on April’ gatherings, which took place yesterday at the Parliament Museum, calling for collective responsibility in preserving the ideals of Freedom and Democracy.
The meeting featured testimonies from Fátima Dutra Goulart, a civil servant and native of Corvo, and Hélio Pombo, also a native of Corvo, a former Member of the Legislative Assembly, and a combatant in the Colonial War in Mozambique. Both shared their experiences before and after the Revolution, reflecting on the social and political transformations felt in the archipelago, emphasizing the impact of Autonomy in the Azores.
According to the information provided, this session marked the end of the “Conversas de Abril” gatherings, an initiative promoted by the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores (ALRAA) as part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of April 25, 1974. Over the past year, these inter-generational conversations have brought together primary and secondary school students with Azorean personalities who have given first-person accounts of their experiences during the Estado Novo (Dictatorship) and how they lived through the day of the Carnation Revolution.

In Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.