Marcelo finishes for the last time on June 10th. « There is no one who can say that it is purer and more Portuguese than any other. »
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa last spoke on Portugal’s Day as President of the Republic, this Tuesday. In an intervention of about 10 minutes, the head of state highlighted lakes as « a symbolic place of history, » which leads to « the nearly 900 years of the common homeland and the pride of those who made it from all over. »
The president began by thanking all the peoples who were part of the Portuguese homeland, and tuned for the same tuning fork of Lídia Jorge’s speech, who preceded him, saying, « There is no one who can say that it is purer and more Portuguese than any other. »
Portugal, underlined Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, is a « mix » made by the passage of various peoples. « We are Portuguese, we are universal. And we are universal because we are Portuguese, » he said.
He continued in his compliment to the Portuguese, “experienced, resistant, creative, heroes at the right times, capable of speaking tongues, understanding climates and uses, living with everyone, building bridges day by day”.
Thus, and in the face of a “new cycle”, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa argued that “we have a duty to recreate ourselves, to surpass ourselves, to take better care of our people. (…) Take care of the sea, the oceans, this value that is very ours, Portuguese and universal”.
For the President of the Republic, « recreating Portugal is, deep down, to read the Lusíadas. Remember the past, but bet on the future. »
« This recreating Portugal is our first obligation in this new cycle of our history, 50 years after we came to democracy, freedom, » he said.
Finally, he made a special reference to the military to highlight the decoration to General Ramalho Eanes, with the great collar of the Military Order of Avis.
« We are the homeland who lives in freedom and democracy made by these soldiers. It is this gratitude that we want to witness, awarded who was the protagonist of November, April captain, fighting in Africa, President of the Republic, » he said.
