Colonel Vasco Lourenço: The world needs a new Carnation Revolution

Lisbon, Apr 19 (EFE) - The world needs a new Carnation Revolution in response to the inequalities in society, said Portuguese Colonel Vasco Lourenço, one of the military officers who led the uprising that brought democracy to Portugal, which will mark its 50 anniversary on Thursday.

Lourenço was one of the main people responsible for the military conspiracy behind the Carnation Revolution on 25 April 1974 and, although he is proud of having helped to make Portuguese society fairer, in an interview with EFE he believes that part of this achievement has been lost.

CAMERA: SUSANA SAMHAN.

FOOTAGE AND SOUNDBITES OF VASCO LOURENÇO AT THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE 25 APRIL ASSOCIATION IN LISBON, PORTUGAL.

1. "There is that long-standing claim that 98% of wealth is in the hands of 1% of the population. This has to provoke indignation. What I called at one point: there is going to have to be a new Carnation Revolution. In other words, society can't be as unequal as that."

2. "Today in Spain it is absolutely agreed that the peaceful transition in Spain was only possible in the way it was made because there was the 25th of April in Portugal, which had a decisive influence on the transition in Spain. In fact, one of the characteristics, one of the consequences that gives us great pleasure is to see that the 25th of April was a precursor and influenced democratic transitions practically all over the world. The first one was in Greece, even before Spain. Greece faced the dictatorship of the colonels and soon it became clear that the military did not only have to do 'pinochetadas', they did not have to do what happened in Chile. They could be elements in the creation of democracies and, therefore, that influence was in Greece, Spain, Brazil, in various Latin American countries. In Indonesia itself, it had an influence. It had positive consequences. The end of apartheid is much easier because the 25th of April promoted the end of the Portuguese colonial empire and, therefore, in South Africa, with the independence of Angola and Mozambique, the fight against apartheid was much easier and it made apartheid much easier and in what a way."

3. "Chega has risen precisely because the democratic forces have shot themselves in the foot. What I am saying is: can any intelligent and well-meaning person ever think that Chega, when he comes to power, will do what he said he would do? It is obvious that if Chega comes to power, what he will do is exactly the opposite. What Hitler did and what Netanyahu is doing in Israel and so on. People end up being fooled, they end up being fooled. Promise, criticise, sure. I criticise too. Now, the difference is that I criticise, but when they come to power they make it worse than what they are criticising. It's all a question of trends, of waves... I don't know. When they say to me, what is the solution? I usually say in this and many other situations, if I had the solution I would win the Euromillions. I don't have a solution. We will have to continue fighting to unmask this type of attitude, of promises that are clearly promises that are not going to be kept. This is the political struggle. I am still convinced, but I am a little optimistic, I am optimistic, I am still convinced that the values of April will once again come out in force."

4. "We wanted a fairer society. And after 25 April, in the following years, that was a fact. Portuguese society became much fairer and much less unequal. Unfortunately, in recent years, inequalities have been growing. Poverty has increased and spread. In that sense, I would like it to be better, but we are incredibly better."