Forty years after the revolution, facing austerity

Many people face extreme difficulties to tackle the most basic needs. A situation that revolt José Cardoso Fontão, one of the captains of April: "The great humanist principles of April 25 were carrying sticks through the process and now are being stabbed and taken to the final stage."

The day celebrating the 40 years of the revolution, Joseph meets 82 years, but the Colonel is not in the mood for parties. The cuts and taxes reduced his pension halved, while the monthly military residence where she lived has increased. With an unemployed daughter, Captain of April had to move into a rented apartment.

"A person has a life ordered and organized in certain terms and, all of a sudden, you see everything crumbling around. I know a lot of people in a situation worse, but this is a totally unacceptable drama. Mine is reprehensible and then there's another unacceptable! ", he stressed José Cardoso Fontão.

The Colonel believes that the fruit more consolidated the revolution was the transformation of the role of women, but the Boghiu feminist anti-fascist Gois is not totally agree. "The revolution of 25 April was on the freedoms, rights and guarantees of persons in General and for the right of peoples, the Portuguese colonies to their independence. Turns out there's a visibility of progress with regard to women's rights, which were almost at the level of the middle ages, "said the activist.

However, Manuela and Joseph share the same concerns about the future of the youngest. As the captain of April, this reformed must help financially two of her sons. One is unemployed, the other has a precarious work.

"When I did the math in my retirement, I was hoping the pension arrived. At this point, we have to organize life in a different way to be able to support children in need, "said Manuela.

Forty years after the revolution, the Portuguese will have to emigrate for economic reasons. In 2012, almost a fifth of the Portuguese population lived with 400 euros per month.



José Gil: "Portugal has now fear does not exist"

Author of a book that, in the first decade of the years 2000, ran a lot of ink: "Portugal Today â€" the fear to exist".

euronews â€" professor, what has changed in the mentality of the Portuguese in the last four decades, after the end of the dictatorship?

José Gil-much has changed and much remained. First, the liberty made the way of being and the way to be, above all, change. For example, a change of mentality was consumerism, especially in the years of the cavaquismo and with that consumerism and money and improving the quality of life showed a more pronounced individualism. The Portuguese have become accustomed to having rights â€" at least a little â€" and began to learn, in democracy and in the new freedom, the claim, first shyly but heavily, although there are still limits and have been always limits.

en â€" the Portuguese are today a people disenchanted with the promises of the Carnation Revolution. Why has this happened?

JG â€" well, it happened because the April 25 revolution was a revolution that promised a utopian society that was, alas, outlined in the Constitution, which was a Socialist Constitution, of the most advanced in the theoretical socialism around the world and this utopian society was, little by little, contradicted and replaced by another Royal Society, in which prevailed â€" quite simply â€" not the socialismBut capitalism. Not even the idea of democracy and the idea of freedom there was a concrete development in society. And there was there a deceção that remains and grows increasingly today.

en â€" Portugal still has fear to exist "? Or the crisis created a new dynamic in Portuguese society?

JG â€" Do Not. I think Portugal has now fear does not exist, I mean, another fear is the fear of losing your job, lose all the rights they had acquired and in health, in justice, in education. The austerity policy is doing with that, increasingly, be afraid. There is a new dynamic in society. There are success stories of companies who have success. There just isn't a Government policy to promote and which is the cause of a dynamic, I mean, a logic that causes economic development â€" which also depends on the Europe-happens. And that depends on all of our situation.



The route of Portuguese women in 40 years of democracy

The 40 anniversary of the Carnation Revolution, make an assessment of the rights won by women in Portugal since April 25, 1974. We discuss also what still remains to be done to ensure that equality between men and women step out of the role.

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