The Portuguese celebrate today the 44th anniversary of April 25, which will be marked in Lisbon with the traditional solemn session in parliament, the inauguration of the Mário Soares garden and the parade on Avenida da Liberdade.
At 10:00 a.m., the President of the Assembly of the Republic, Ferro Rodrigues, will open the session in the Chamber, after the Band of the GNR execute the National Anthem, in the Lost Steps, then giving the floor to the representatives of the parliamentary groups.
The first to intervene will be the single MP of the PAN (People-Animals-Nature), André Silva, then José Luís Ferreira, PEV, Paulo Sá, PCP, Ana Rita Bessa, CDS-PP, Isabel Pires , BE, Elza Pais, PS, and Margarida Balseiro Lopes, PSD.
The solemn session will end with the speeches of Ferro Rodrigues and the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. At the end of the session you will hear the song of José Afonso “Bring another friend too”, interpreted by the Choir of the Old Orpheonists of the University of Coimbra.
It will be the third time the head of state will address the solemn session of April 25, which he has used in previous years to express concern about the vitality of the political system.
From the parliament, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Prime Minister, António Costa, and the president of the Assembly of the Republic will continue to the south zone of the Campo Grande garden, where the Mário Soares garden will be inaugurated at 13:00. At the opening ceremony of the works, which represented an investment of 1.2 million euros, will also be the Mayor of Lisbon, Fernando Medina.
Two hours later the Marquês de Pombal will start the traditional popular parade organized by the 25 de Abril Association. Under the motto “April again, with the strength of the people”, the parade will continue to Rossio.
This year, with the usual presence of the Secretary General of the PCP, Jerónimo de Sousa, and the national coordinator of the BE, Catarina Martins, will join the former Minister of Finance of the Greek government led by Tsipras in 2015, Yanis Varoufákis . Military and police officers are also expected to participate in the popular parade, in protest of the “non-thawing” of careers.
Also in the afternoon, from 15:15, the parliament opens the doors to the public for free visits and cultural activities.
For the first time, visitors will be able to circulate between the Assembly of the Republic building and the official residence of the Prime Minister, spaces linked by common gardens and, following a pre-defined itinerary, will be able to know some spaces of the Palace of São Bento that habitually are not open to the public.
There are musical performances of the Choir of the Old Orpheonists of the University of Coimbra and the Youth Orchestra of the Musical Academy of the Friends of Children. An exhibition on the “Monastery of St. Benedict of Health: from religious house to the seat of parliament”, which marks the 400th anniversary of the building where the Assembly of the Republic is now based, will be one of the patents open to the public on April 25th.
In the official residence of the Prime Minister, visitors will be able to see the Bula chaimite, which was commanded by Captain Salgueiro Maia in military operations on April 25, 1974 and a space dedicated to the Participatory Budget Portugal 2018.
The Bula chaimite, which also transported the last president of the New State Council, Marcello Caetano, when he left the Carmo Quarters after the surrender, will be stationed in the gardens of São Bento alongside a set of photographs of some of the most remarkable moments of the day of the revolution.
