The Portuguese government has indicated that it does not plan to pay reparations for the country’s role in transatlantic slavery and colonialism.
The debate over Portugal’s role in the slave trade and other colonial-era abuses was reignited last week after its president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, suggested the country should make amends for these “crimes.” .
The right-wing government, dominated by a party Mr de Sousa once led, has rejected the idea, however, while the far-right Chega party is calling for a vote in parliament to condemn the president and his comments, which he described as a “betrayal of the Portuguese people and their history”.
It was during an in-depth conversation with foreign correspondents that the president was asked whether reparations were due for the slave trade, in which Portuguese ships transported millions of people from Africa, mainly in Brazil, where they were forced to work on plantations.
In his response, he did not mention slavery, but said Portugal must “take full responsibility” for its past, citing massacres and pillaging as abuses for which it could “pay the price.”
Brazil’s Racial Equality Minister, Anielle Franco, called for “concrete actions” to accompany these words.
However, on April 25, during celebrations in Lisbon of the 50th anniversary of the coup that ended decades of dictatorship, Mr. de Sousa did not return to the subject at an event attended by presidents former colonies whose path to independence was made easier by the 1974 revolution. In their speeches, they described this date as a symbol of freedom; none mentioned repairs.
The government, meanwhile, only released its statement on Saturday, after the president expanded on his earlier remarks by saying development aid and debt cancellation could help repair the colonial past.
Portugal, he said, has an “obligation” to “lead the way” on this issue, warning of the fate of “other countries which… have lost the ability to dialogue and understand with their former colonies “.
In a terse statement, the government said it was “following the same line” as its predecessors on reparations: “There has not been and is no specific process or program of action to this end.
In fact, the Minister of Culture of the previous socialist government had examined the possibility of returning the looted property. The current minister, who notably headed a national museum whose collection includes objects from former colonies, has already supported this idea in the past.
Anti-racist groups and far-left parties, which have long campaigned on these issues, have returned to the charge in recent days. But it is the conservative president of Portugal who is leading the way.
As he reminded foreign correspondents last week, under the dictatorship, his father was governor of Mozambique, then last minister of colonies. Mr. de Sousa is therefore well placed to discredit right-wing voices who argue that colonialism was not so bad after all.
