This Sunday, February 8th, Portuguese are called to the second and final round of elections to choose a President of the Republic.

On the extreme right-hand side, we have the candidate André Ventura, who calls for the destruction of the constitution of April, the democratic State, and the privatization of all services. On the other hand, poised in a social-democratic center, though supported by the Socialist Party as an afterthought, stands António José Seguro.

António Lima, leader of the Left Bloc Azores, makes an interesting comparison. He says: “On January 20, 1940, Winston Churchill gave a radio address, as a member of the war cabinet, on the state of World War II and the role of neutral states. The Second World War had begun a few months earlier, and many countries in northern and eastern Europe remained neutral.

We are not at war, but in that speech—entitled “The War Situation: House of Many Mansions”—there is a metaphor about the role of neutral states and the threat from Nazi Germany that fits, with uncomfortable precision, our own times:

“Each feeds the crocodile well, hoping to be the last to be devoured.” (Lima’s translation)

Today’s crocodiles take many forms and occupy different geographical and political spaces. The crocodile in Portugal does not hide its face, invoking Salazar. And in the face of this threat, there are those who prefer to remain neutral.”

Like António Lima, in the first round of elections, I voted for Catarina Martins, a socialist, feminist, and ecologist with long experience as a parliamentary and political leader. Alas, in the second round, as António Lima says, “there is only one democratic candidate, António José Seguro. The choice is simple. I disagree with many of his positions, I do not forget past decisions, but I hope he will defend the Constitution and the working class. I recognize a democrat when I see one.

And, by the same criterion, I recognize those who want to impose an authoritarian regime in Portugal. We are not facing a debate between moderation and radicalism. The choice is between those who defend the democracy of the April Constitution and those who want to replace it.”

In the Azores, we have the strange case of roaming crocodile feeders in power who support the extreme right by avoiding taking any position on this matter, just like the prime minister of the nation, Luís Montenegro. They claim the mantle of social-democracy but abstain from supporting the only democrat running for president of the Republic of Portugal. Are they afraid of alienating their political bases? Are they reluctant to clash with their sometimes-legislative partner, Chega Party? Do they prefer neutrality instead of standing firm in the defense of democracy?

This Sunday, the Portuguese people will speak through their votes. It is António Lima´s and my most fervent desire that we remain a country of April and that red carnations shower the streets of this country in response to the hatred and division propagated by the crocodile.

Avelina da Silveira is a poet, novelist, and cultural and political activist. She writes in both Portuguese and English. She is from the Azores, where she currently resides, but she lived in Canada for many years.