Times of (un)certainties, by Ambassador Jorge Tolentino

What I said about MASCARENHAS MONTEIRO at the presentation of the book Tempos de (in)Certezas, by Ambassador Jorge Tolentino, 17.06.2016

The book is dedicated to António Mascarenhas Monteiro, the first democratically elected President of the Republic. A man of statesmanship, honest and demanding, a democrat, a lover of freedom and a promoter of the common good, a profound connoisseur of national reality and international relations, Mascarenhas Monteiro was a reference for all of us in terms of building the rule of law Democratic. As President of the PAICV and Prime Minister I was lucky enough to work, albeit for a short time, with President Mascarenhas Monteiro. I was able to surprise a humble man, because sage, a competent and discreet arbiter of the political game, a moral reserve of the Republic, the one who “warns and advises”, to use the terms of Aristides Lima, in his book Constitutional Legal Status of the Head of State , a study of comparative law. Mascarenhas Monteiro performs the functions of President of the Republic with great serenity, adequate distance, deep respect for the Constitution and total loyalty to the other sovereign bodies. At no time did he want to be “more than the Constitution allows” or “accept being less than the Constitution imposes”, as the President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa brilliantly said at the inauguration ceremony.

Mascarenhas Monteiro was very demanding, with himself and others. He did not tolerate the average, the deviations and the lack of rigor and transparency in the management of public affairs. Little given to fanfares and demagogy, he did not publish his speeches, they would certainly be a powerful contribution to rulers, jurists, current and putative politicians and political scientists. Finally, a capital man of Cape Verdean politics, honest, decent and incorruptible. It is not common, these days, for a President of the Republic, after 10 years in office, to leave power as clean as pond water and poor as Lázaro.

By honoring Mascarenhas Monteiro, Jorge Tolentino shows us the paths of the Republic, in these TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY”