On August 10, hundreds of activists from various anti-fascist groups marched in Lisbon, Portugal, protesting against a conference of far-right groups that was organized by the hyper-nationalist platform, New Social Order. The conference was attended by various right-wing groups across Europe. The protest was called by the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) and the Left Bloc.
The PCP condemned the so-called nationalist conference in Portugal, saying, “Holding such a conference in the year commemorating the 45th anniversary of the April Revolution (1974), is an offense to those who for decades fought for freedom and democracy, and in several cases, notably Communist militants, paid with their lives.”
“The PCP, rejecting such an initiative, underlines the progressive values contained in the Constitution of the Republic of rejecting racism and xenophobia as well as structures that favor the fascist ideology.”
Isabel Pires, deputy of the Left Bloc, said that it is crucial to participate in all solidarity movements at a time when “the discourse of hatred, racism and xenophobia is growing not only in Brazil and the United States, but also in Europe.”
The Antifascist Unitarian Front (FUA), an umbrella of 65 anti-fascist organizations, had earlier published a manifesto on Facebook and petitioned for the conference to be banned. The effort to prevent the normalization of hate speech garnered more than 5,000 signatures. “We cannot accept such an event without a reaction from those who are ready to defend our democracy, and the freedom we have gained with it. In Portugal, neonazis are not welcome! Fascism never again!,” read the petition.
On August 25, the progressive sectors in Portugal are all set to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the April Revolution or the Carnation Revolution that ousted the Estado Novo or the 48-year authoritarian rule in Portugal. The revolution led to Portugal’s withdrawal from its African colonies.
