In a statement to journalists in parliament, following the commemorative session of the 50th anniversary of November 25, 1975, Cotrim Figueiredo expressed the same joy in celebrating both April and November. He emphasized that “a session like today’s is an act of unity and never of division,” criticizing those who he felt attempted to “increase divisions” in their speeches.
“My comment regarding interventions that tried to deepen this divide is that this date completes April 25 and does not stand in opposition to it, which is clearly the founding date of our democracy,” he stated.
The presidential candidate supported by IL regretted that only the speech by the President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, “focused on future themes and directly addressed the youth,” asserting that dates like November 25 teach us to “avoid past mistakes” and “seize future opportunities.”
Cotrim also argued that “November 25 only became a divisive date because there was an attempt by the parliamentary and political left in Portugal to appropriate April 25,” highlighting that there was initially a refusal to allow IL’s participation in marching down Avenida da Liberdade on the day marking the Carnation Revolution.
Cotrim stated his intention to comment on the November 25 ceremony rather than engage in a presidential campaign, but noted that some took advantage of the session for that purpose, though he did not mention names.
“I note that some used the parliamentary tribune for presidential campaigning,” he remarked.
Two of his opponents in the presidential race, Jorge Pinto and André Ventura, spoke during the solemn session in the parliament.
