This conversation was broadcast live this afternoon on Rádio Observador, where Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and the bishop of Setúbal took part in a programme to present João Gil's new album, entitled "Só se salva o amor" -- an initiative that was not included in the President of the Republic's agenda released to the media.

For almost an hour, between songs played and sung by João Gil, the head of state spoke mainly about 25 April 1974 and the country's evolution since then, having pointed out poverty as "the big problem" in which Portugal has failed in these 50 years.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa mentioned that the poverty risk rate after social transfers has been "between 17% and 20%" and that in 2022 it covered "one million and 700 thousand" people, observing: "That's a lot of people, and it's not more because of social benefits".

"Social benefits are what make the difference between 41.8% and 17%. There are more than two million people who depend on social benefits -- the elderly, pensioners and others -- who end up reducing the expression of net poverty, because gross poverty remains very high. It is very high", he considered.

On the political front, the President of the Republic responded to those who question whether currently "there are no voices that, by questioning institutions or questioning aspects or pillars of democracy, clash with the message of April and with the democratic message".

"No. When we accept democracies, we accept all voices", he countered.

According to the head of state, no one should be silenced, whether they are "voices that agree with the Government, those that disagree with the Government, those that agree with the President, those that disagree with the President, those that agree with the courts, those that disagree with the courts themselves or their decisions, those that even disagree with the functioning of the party system".

"Learning not to silence these voices is fundamental, because the day we start silencing voices, we start silencing voices we start living in a dictatorship", he defended.

Earlier, the head of state mentioned that there is still a "right-wing nostalgic for the pre-25 April" in Portugal, "who despite everything misses what their life and their conception of the empire was, their conception of dictatorship, their conception of security, the conception of authority".

On the other hand, he mentioned that there are Portuguese people "nostalgic for 25 April", who "continue around and have the right to continue around, that is to say, they fought for a certain 25 April, that 25 April did not happen".

"And one good thing is the following: whoever decided at each moment that 25 April could and should be was the people, and sometimes they decided it was more to the left, other times they decided it was more to the right, or more to the centre", he added.

"It's one of the differences between democracy and dictatorship", he stressed.

Leia Também: Queda do Governo? Marcelo diz que "água não está a correr nesse sentido" (Portuguese version)