Tarrafal: Neves, concerned about the “degradation of the quality of democracy”, says it is necessary to find “antidotes” for the situation

José Maria Neves, who was speaking at the ceremony marking the fiftieth anniversary of the release of political prisoners in Tarrafal, recognized that today Cape Verde has a functioning democratic rule of law and that “firm steps are being taken towards the modernization of the country and its sustainable development , with a strong engagement of all political and social sensitivities”.

However, given the global scenario, he says he notes with “concern, the degradation of the quality of democracy, for which antidotes must be found”, scenarios such as the decline in sectors such as education, health and solidarity, the increase in migratory waves, among others. aspects, considering that they are signs of a regression and a path “opposite to that of development”.

“Politics is one of the most noble and rewarding human activities. Democracy is the possibility of divergences and understandings. There is a time for disagreements and a time for agreements. We must relearn how to discuss, respect each other and act with a sense of public interest”, said the head of State, appealing that in this time of elections, this period should not be turned into a factory of grudges, reinforcing that “the struggle for power cannot dehumanize, it cannot justify everything”.

In fact, he argued that “it is necessary to have the capacity to make ruptures, have disruptive attitudes and project the country that we aspire for in the next fifty years”, a country that, as highlighted by José Maria Neves, must be one of “more freedoms, more equality, more prosperity, more inclusion, more social justice”.

In this sense, he also highlighted that “it is necessary to carry out a profound reform of the State, in order to decentralize it further, granting more powers and more resources to the islands”, creating “more spaces for citizen participation and guaranteeing more autonomy for civil society”.

José Maria Neves highlighted that alternations, healthy in democracy, by themselves “cannot justify ruptures and discontinuities in public policies, with waste of resources and serious damage to institutions and economic and social dynamics”, advising that the changes “ they must be very well considered”, in order to express the real desires and feelings of people and civil society.

As we celebrate fifty years of the Liberation of Prisoners from the Tarrafal Concentration Camp, the head of State asks everyone that this moment serves above all for the future, for the next 50 years, emphasizing that “fragile as it is, democracy needs intensive and permanent care.”

To conclude, José Maria Neves warned of the need to “live up to our responsibilities, promoting freedoms, caring for and defending democracy, never to speak of concentration camps again”.