I write this article with the expectation that it will be published during the week in which our country celebrates the fifty-first anniversary of Freedom Day, the most important re-founding date in Portugal. I write them thinking about the legislative elections next May. Reflecting on the catastrophic state of politics worldwide. I hope this text is useful to voters who are social democrats, socialists, or other non-supporters of Elon Musk and Javier Milei.
This is an appeal and an assessment of what can be expected in the years to come in our country. The Azores are already a test tube, with Madeira serving as a negative example in another quadrant. And next month, we’ll measure the results and see if the school will also be set up in Lisbon. As popular wisdom tells us, once the door is open, anything can get in.supporters of non-Elon Musk and non-Javier
This ideological door has been prepared by the Social Democratic Party for some time. After the results of the last legislative elections, the party’s powerful finally realized the threat lurking outside their window and recognized that the electorate was blurring the lines between Ventura’s lies and the suits of the new rich of neoliberalism. When they won, by a long shot, they didn’t know if they should accept a possible alliance with those they knew were the children of fascism. It seems that Luís Montenegro himself imposed discipline and denied Brother Ventura. I don’t think he did it out of moral obligation, but rather out of personal dislike. Luís and André were friends in Pedro Passos Coelho’s playground and have been fighting for his approval ever since. If you don’t believe me, search for a book called “Montenegro” and you’ll quickly realize how old the war is.
A year and a day later, the government falls. The PSD and CDS lose the PPM. The Prime Minister seems to have lost a little of his remaining morale. And part of his party has certainly lost its mind. Threatened with the possibility of a defeat, even a relatively small one, the Social Democrats are rushing to the public square to call for unity with the incoming party. It’s not the first time we’ve seen this, but now it seems to be the fruit of a concerted effort. Miguel Relvas, an old friend of Coelho’s, Ventura’s, and the rest of the scoundrels, has been the first to show his face on his political commentary programs, where he will use the knowledge he has gained from his relevant academic qualification in fiction to call for national unity between Luís and André. Here, too, in the regional newspapers, we find articles discussing the fall of one coalition and the formation of another, marking the start of a new era. The right-wing bloc is what they call it behind closed doors. They side with that party, without fear of admitting that they are like them, the ones with more alleged criminals per square meter than the police station in the center of Ponta Delgada.
To survive and win at any cost, the living forces of the PSD are willing to make the ultimate alliance and give Ventura and his gang their hand. The electorate has already been thoroughly brainwashed by disinformation and illusion. They no longer know the difference between Luís and André. All they care about is that they’re not socialists, who are the bad guys, from what they’ve read on social media. The commentators will reap the dividends, either with a place in the main cast or with a future, well-positioned business deal. After the votes are counted in May, there is a strong possibility that Montenegro will be forced to take office alongside Ventura in a new parliamentary agreement, based on Bolieiro’s good relations with Pacheco, and duly guided by the words of Albuquerque, who has always said he has no red lines to cross.
More than ten years ago, the Republican Party crossed that line and put its traditional values and leaders aside. It ceased to be a party of conservative morals, to give a chance to a crook, without ethics or humanity. In a country where there are only two alternatives, as is the case in the United States, the population was held hostage by a party of the center and one that claimed to be right-wing, but sold out to fascism. To beat Clinton’s forces, the Americans offered their souls to the greatest of all demons. And a new movement was born, slowly but surely crossing the Atlantic.
From the fascism of the MAGA movement to the doors of the Chega headquarters, it was only a matter of time. Ventura is, in his own words, a staunch supporter of Donald Trump. The scheme he perpetuated in Portugal, and which he continues to cook up, is the same. He’s going to force his former colleague to make a decision. Either PSD will narrowly win the elections, or Chega will rise to power. The catch is in. Portugal is between the sword of corruption and the wall of the Salazarists.
It’s no secret to anyone who reads me that I’m a left-winger. I always urge people to vote for left-wing political forces, even if I don’t always agree with everything they say. But I do so because I believe they are the parties that care most about people, their dignity, and the emancipation of thought and humanity. I understand that not everyone wants to vote for the left. What’s important is that they know that a vote for the right in the next elections is likely to be a vote for André Ventura, one way or another. With an open door, almost anything can get in. And once a parasite has entered your home, it’s not easy to get rid of it. The United States can tell you that.
Fifty-one years after April 25th, the struggle remains more relevant than ever. The night is getting darker, populism is on the rise, newspaper editorials speak highly of Salazar, and commentators call for united forces to destroy democracy. Today, more than ever, we have to say: never again fascism! Long live April! Long live freedom! April 25th, ALWAYS.

Alexandra Manes

Alexandra Manes is from Flores Island but lives on the island of Terceira in the Azores. She is a regular contributing writer for several Azorean newspapers, a political and cultural activist, and has served in the Azorean Parliament.

NOVIDADES will feature occasional opinion pieces from various leading thinkers and writers in the Azores, giving the diaspora and those interested in the current state of the Azores a sense of the significant opinions on some of the archipelago’s issues.

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).