Today Portugal celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April with a broad program that includes the traditional solemn session in Parliament and the parade on Avenida da Liberdade, in Lisbon. Celebrations are planned across the country.
The program begins with a military ceremony at Terreiro do Paço, in Lisbon, with the presence of the President of the Republic.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa then goes to the Assembly of the Republic, at 11:30 am, to watch and close the traditional solemn session commemorating the Carnation Revolution.
To mark in Parliament the passage of half a century since the coup d’état that put an end to the dictatorship of Oliveira Salazar and Marcello Caetano, the leaders of the parties PS Chega, Initiative Liberal, BE, PCP and Livre will make statements.
The PSD, the party chaired by the current prime minister, Luís Montenegro, who will not speak at the session, chose to include among the speakers the young deputy Ana Gabriela Cabilhas, aged 27.
In the case of the CDS-PP, a political force led by the Minister of Defense, Nuno Melo, the president of the parliamentary group, Paulo Núncio, was appointed.
As usual, the speeches will follow the ascending order of parliamentary representation, with the first being given to PAN deputy Inês de Sousa Real, followed by Paulo Núncio (CDS), Rui Tavares (Livre), Paulo Raimundo (PCP, Mariana Mortágua ( Bloco de Esquerda), Rui Rocha (Liberal Initiative), André Ventura (Chega), Pedro Nuno Santos (PS) and Ana Gabriela Cabilhas, ending with the president of Parliament, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, and the Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
At the end of the formal session, the President of the Republic will go to the main hall of Parliament to visit the exhibition “A Nós a Liberdade”, organized with the Arpad Szenes-Vieira da Silva Foundation and which was officially opened on Tuesday (23).
In the afternoon, Parliament opens its doors to the public for a free program that includes exhibitions, theater and music.
The Prime Minister also participates in lunch with 50 young people from different areas, from culture to sport or volunteering, at the official residence of S. Bento. The space will be open to the public from 3:30 pm, with a cultural program that included a performance by musician António Zambujo.
Marcelo Rebelo will open Palácio de Belém to the public and will be, from 6pm, at a ceremony with presidents of Portuguese-speaking countries at the Centro Cultural de Belém, in Lisbon.
In the afternoon, the usual parade will take place on Avenida da Liberdade, which will bring together political leaders and this year will feature the symbolic presence of the President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar Branco.
Terreiro do Paço will be the central point of the official celebrations, with a historical recreation of the “Operation end of regime”, which began the day before at the Practical Cavalry School, in Santarém.
A replica of the column commanded by captain Salgueiro Maia, who left Santarém towards Lisbon 50 years ago, arrives at Terreiro do Paço in time to parade before Marcelo Rebelo and other entities.
The old Army vehicles will remain in Terreiro do Paço, providing interaction between citizens and the April military.
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