Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa spoke at the closing session of the Congress of the Centenary of the Portuguese Confederation of Cultural, Recreational and Sports Collectivities, at the Luísa Todi Municipal Forum, in Setúbal, having praised the role of these institutions in Portuguese society at various moments of crisis.

"We lack social cohesion. Fifty years after April 25, this is a serious problem, and it is serious for this reason, because all the associative dynamics, all the spirit of freedom and participation may be insufficient if the divisions between the youngest and the oldest become more accentuated. Between territories, within territories, between the minorities that have the most and the majorities that have the least," he said, adding that he is comfortable saying these words because "he is a man of the right rather than the left".

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that the 50 years of April show that Portugal has had more conquests than failures, more victories than defeats, but that it has maintained a permanent and persistent defeat, that of poverty and inequalities.

"And this persistence is a problem for Portuguese society," he said.

The President of the Republic, who today decorated the president of the Portuguese Confederation of Cultural, Recreational and Sports Collectivities, with the degree of Commander of the Order of Merit, highlighted, in his speech on the role of collectivities, that the more than 30 thousand associated collectivities build cohesion and social inclusion every day.

"It is the largest social network in the country. In times of crisis, in the Troika crisis, in the pandemic crisis, in the crisis after and during these wars that persist in the world, this network is responsible for building cohesion and social inclusion every day, fighting isolation, maintaining health and well-being, looking at people and communities, working for the democratization of access to sports and access to culture," he said.

This is, for Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, an insane job, therefore deserving the gratitude of all Portuguese people.

The collectivities, added the president, have faced several challenges, including that of economic and financial sustainability, that of the visibility of their demands and now that of evictions and rent increases.

"Even this morning I came across three Portuguese people who told me about the experience of their collectivities, which run the risk of being evicted. It is imminent. They invited me to visit the headquarters to see how they had endured everything and now could not endure the rise in housing and rent prices," said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa added that these collectivities resist, but face many difficulties in surviving, which leads to the loss of character of the communities.

"May this congress also signify an appeal to conscience. It is very important that the Portuguese economy grows, that productivity grows, it is very important that a series of economic indicators grow, but if social cohesion does not increase, this will be valid for one part of Portuguese society, not for another, it will be irreversibly left behind," he stressed.

[News updated at 7:40 pm]

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