International
The world needs a new Carnation Revolution, defends one of its architects
The world needs a new Carnation Revolution in response to the inequalities that exist in society, said Portuguese Colonel Vasco Lourenço, one of the soldiers who led the uprising that meant the arrival of democracy in Portugal, which next Thursday will be 50 years old.
Lourenço was one of the main responsible for the military conspiracy behind the Carnation Revolution on April 25, 1974 and, although he is proud to have helped make Portuguese society fairer, he considered, in an interview with EFE, that part of that conquest has been lost.
“We had the ambition of a fairer society. And after April 25, in the following years, that was a fact. Portuguese society was much fairer, much less unequal. Unfortunately, in recent years, inequalities have been growing,” said the soldier.
The problem is global and can trigger a new revolt: “There will have to be a new Carnation Revolution. It is not possible for society in the world to be so unequal.”
Lourenço was the operational responsible for the uprising that brought down the dictatorship of António de Oliveira Salazar and returned power to the citizenry, although he had to live that day from the Azores archipelago because the regime moved him there the previous month.
Half a century later, at the age of 83, he presides over the 25 de Abril Association, the entity that brings together the military who participated in a revolution that influenced the creation of many democratic states in the world, including neighboring Spain, which began its transition after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.
“The peaceful transition in Spain was only possible in the way it was done because there was April 25 in Portugal,” said the retired colonel.
But democratization did not stay in Spain and reached other corners of the globe, such as Greece – after Portugal demonstrated that “the military did not have to do only ‘pinochetadas” -, Brazil and other Latin American countries, Lourenço listed.
And it went further: the independence of the Portuguese colonies in Africa “made the fight against apartheid much easier” in South Africa.
In Portugal and Spain, despite being so close, the paths to reach democracy were very different and this former official considers that in the neighboring country there are still “wounds to heal” from the past.
“In Spain, the civil war caused very conflicting situations. And then the cure of that war was not made (…) Here in Portugal, despite the fact that there was no violence, there was a military rupture that allowed to cure what had happened,” reasoned the colonel, who recalled that the Franco dictatorship was “much more violent.”
With the Carnation Revolution, “the wounds of the time of fascism were healed.” Half a century later, the country has joined the European boom of the far right.
The radical Chega party has 50 of the 230 deputies of the Parliament, the largest number of seats in the hands of the extreme right since the end of the Portuguese dictatorship.
“Chega has risen precisely because the democratic forces have shot themselves in the foot,” defended Lourenço, who regretted that “a large part of the politicians,” when they govern, prefers to serve their own interests than those of the people.
These behaviors “create fields for opportunists, so that populists make promises that they will not keep” and give wings to the far right, he said.
Even so, Lourenço is “optimistic” and trusts that the “spirit of April” is still alive in Portugal.
That spirit was the one that led in 1974 a group of soldiers to overthrow a dictatorial regime implanted 48 years ago and later return power to the citizenry.
The coup was fast and effective and in less than 24 hours the dictatorship had fallen: “It was the best organized and best executed operation that the Armed Forces have done throughout their history in Portugal,” the colonel reflected.
Asked whether the Portugal he imagined 50 years ago resembled today’s, Lourenço replied cautiously: “Yes and no.”
Conquests that they dreamed of such as integration into the international community, peace or democracy, despite their flaws – “I prefer a bad and imperfect democracy to a ‘good’ dictatorship” – have been maintained to this day.
Social justice continues to be the ‘thorn’: “Poverty has increased. In that sense, I would like it to be better, but we are incredibly better,” he said.
International
Trump: U.S. has hit three venezuelan narco boats in Caribbean
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that American forces have struck three suspected Venezuelan drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean so far, not two as previously reported.
“We took down boats. It was actually three boats, not two, but you only saw two,” Trump told reporters at the White House before departing for a state visit to the United Kingdom.
The president was asked about remarks by Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who accused Washington of plotting to invade his country.
“Stop sending members of the Tren de Aragua to the United States. Stop sending drugs to the United States,” Trump responded.
The Republican leader mentioned this third vessel a day after announcing that U.S. forces had struck a speedboat in which, according to him, three “terrorists” were killed. Later, from the Oval Office, he claimed the boat had been carrying cocaine and fentanyl.
The attacks come amid escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas, as the U.S. military maintains a Caribbean deployment under the banner of counter-narcotics operations.
The Trump administration accuses Maduro of heading the so-called Cartel of the Suns, which the Venezuelan government denies. Washington has also offered a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture.
On Monday, Maduro said communications with the U.S. were “broken” in the face of what he called an “aggression” and declared that Venezuela is now “better prepared” in case of an “armed struggle.”
International
Ecuador’s Noboa declares State of Emergency in seven provinces amid fuel price protests
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency on Tuesday in seven provinces due to what he described as “serious internal unrest,” as road blockades and demonstrations erupted in response to the elimination of the diesel subsidy and growing concerns over insecurity.
The 60-day measure applies to the provinces of Carchi, Imbabura, Pichincha, Azuay, Bolívar, Cotopaxi, and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas.
Since Monday, partial protests have been reported in Pichincha, Carchi, Azuay, and Imbabura. On Tuesday, road blockades extended to northern Pichincha and routes in Carchi, near the Colombian border. In response, the Executive headquarters was temporarily relocated to Cotopaxi and the Vice Presidency to Imbabura.
The presidential decree states that the measure comes amid “strikes that have disrupted public order and provoked acts of violence, endangering the safety of citizens and their rights to free movement, work, and economic activity.”
According to the decree, the goal is to “prevent the radicalization of disruptive actions” in the affected provinces and to limit the impact on the population. It further emphasizes that the situation requires an “exceptional intervention by state institutions to safeguard security, guarantee citizens’ rights, maintain public order, and preserve social peace.”
Social organizations and labor groups, including the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), have strongly rejected the diesel price increase following the subsidy’s elimination.
The decree justifies the two-month duration as necessary “to ensure a strengthened state presence in the affected territories, restore order, and prevent further acts of violence against people, public, and private property.”
International
Colombia’s special peace tribunal hands down first sentence against former FARC leaders
Seven former rebel leaders, including their last known commander Rodrigo Londoño, alias “Timochenko,” have been handed the maximum penalty established in the 2016 peace agreement.
Under the ruling, they will face mobility restrictions and be required to carry out activities aimed at restoring the dignity of victims, such as helping locate missing persons and participating in landmine clearance in territories where they once operated. These alternative sentences to prison were part of the historic deal signed in 2016 between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) —once the most powerful guerrilla group in Latin America— and then-President Juan Manuel Santos, Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) found the ex-commanders guilty of being responsible for the kidnapping of 21,396 people before laying down their arms and transitioning into a political party. “Investigations showed that kidnapping became a systematic practice. These crimes not only broke the law but also left open wounds that persist in families, communities, and the daily life of the country,” a magistrate told reporters in Bogotá, in the absence of the former commanders, who had accepted responsibility for their crimes back in 2022.
It took the tribunal more than seven years to deliver its first ruling, amid criticism from opponents of the peace deal who argue it is too lenient on the rebels. The former commanders still face charges for other crimes against humanity, including the recruitment of minors.
During their decades-long conflict, the FARC held hostage soldiers, police officers, businesspeople, and political leaders, including French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt. Images of emaciated captives chained in jungle camps shocked the world and became symbols of the conflict.
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