Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo emphasized on Monday the significance of both April 25 and November 25, stating that, in his view, “no one can say that they only want one date or that one is more important than the other.”
“What doesn’t make sense to me is competing with the two dates. There was a date that gave us freedom, which was April 25. That date was critical because without it nothing would have happened. And there was another date that guaranteed that freedom, which was November 25. Both dates have their value. No one can say they only want one date or think one date is more important than the other. For me, that discussion is useless,” said the presidential candidate at the launch of the book “Gouveia e Melo – As Razões” by journalist Valentina Marcelino.
The former Chief of the Navy summed up that “April 25 was essential” as “without it, nothing would have progressed; the dictatorship would have continued,” but noted that “November 25 corrected a diversion that could have been dangerous at the time and, thank God, consolidated our democracy.”
When asked about the statements of Luís Marques Mendes, who used a football metaphor to differentiate the hierarchy between the two dates, Gouveia e Melo was emphatic: “I don’t agree with comparing important dates like November 25 or April 25, which gave us freedom, to cups and football championships. I think that comparison doesn’t make sense.”
The admiral explained that “once again, it seems there is a competition” and there’s a need to “decide which is the more important date.”
“Both dates are significant: one because it gave us freedom and the other because it confirmed the freedom. The two dates only exist with each other,” he said.
The presidential candidate also argued for commemorating all dates “without concerns about whether date A was more important than date B or vice versa.”
“This is a discussion that only divides the Portuguese, and I want to unite the Portuguese in a new democracy. In this democracy, but renewed, with new political practices and a new way of being, to deliver what this democracy has not yet provided, especially in the last 20 years, which is prosperity,” he said.
Gouveia e Melo also responded to Chega’s announcement that it will vote against the State Budget in the final global vote, scheduled for this Thursday in the Assembly of the Republic.
The presidential candidate argued that the population, when voting, “votes intelligently,” and in the last legislative elections, two possible solution centers were created: the center and the center-right.
“From one of these centers, a governance solution will have to emerge. I hope that our political system will find the best governance solution, whether in the center or center-right, to solve the problems of the Portuguese,” he said.
The Parliament will mark the 50th anniversary of November 25 with a session on Tuesday that will replicate the arrangements, including floral displays and the hemicycle layout, of the one held in 2024 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of April 25.
It should be noted that, at the end of August, the presidential candidate had already supported this position, though he stressed that April 25 “holds more relevance.”
On November 25, 1975, opposing military forces clashed on the ground, and the so-called moderate wing of the Armed Forces Movement (MFA) emerged victorious, marking the end of the designated Ongoing Revolutionary Process (PREC).
The Parliament will commemorate this date’s 50th anniversary with a session on Tuesday, identical to the one held in 2024 for the 50th anniversary of April 25, from floral arrangements to the hemicycle configuration.
