«Mendo Henriques: 40 years after April 25th the revolution
still goes on – Interview
By Carolina Matos,
Editor (*)
Mendo Henriques is an associate
professor at the Catholic University of Lisbon, Portugal. His many areas of
interest include Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Consciousness, Applied
Philosophy, Ethics, History, Citizenship, Literature, Governance, Religion and
Education.
He has written extensively on
Fernando Pessoa, Bernard Lonergan, and Eric Voegelin and is the author and
co-author of many books, research, monographs and articles published in
Portugal, Brazil, Spain and France.
A former advisor of the National
Defense Institute and director of GEPOLIS (Gabinete de Estudos
Ético-Político-Religiosos; UCP), Mendo Henriques is an opinion leader and
political blogger devoted to issues of citizenship awareness, civic activism
and volunteerism.
He is the founder and director of
the Instituto da Democracia Portuguesa,
a Portuguese think tank, and publishes in a variety of Internet sites dedicated
to civics, namely Instituto da Democracia Portuguesa,
Clubes da Cidadania,
and Colóquios Lonergan.
In 2013, he co-authored with Nazaré
Barros Olá,
Consciência!a “think-for-yourself” book devoted
to the philosophy of conscience and critical thinking. The book, published in
Portugal and Brazil, is now being adapted into English by Henrique Rodrigues
for publication in the United States.
Mendo
Henriques holds a Bachelor Degree and Master’s Degree in
Philosophy from the University of Lisbon, a doctorate from by the Catholic
University of Lisbon. He has done pre-doctorate studies at the Hoover
Institution, CA/USA, and at Geschwister-Scholl Institut, Munich, FRG.
In this interview for the Portuguese American Journal, he reflects
on contemporary Portugal, 40 years after the Carnation Revolution of 1974, on
his thinking and his vision for the future.
Portugal is celebrating
40 years of freedom and democracy. Looking back, was the 25th of April
revolution worth it?
All indicators before and after
April 25thpoint to this: the Portuguese state was perceived as being
rich but we were poor and forced to migrate; the state was sovereign but we had
no freedoms; we held a colonial empire but were not able to conquer the minds
and hearts of those we colonized. Against this backdrop the revolution was well
worth as it freed us to make new choices. What we have chosen, however, has
been tested by capitalism. Capitalism is capable of creating the best life
conditions when the wealth created better serves the collective welfare; or the
worst when the created riches are abused by a minority, as explained by Thomas
Piketty and illustrated by the Gini Coefficient about inequality. What we do in
Portugal today is contingent to European and global answers. Yet, we should not
accept bad policies forced on us due to the ignorance or greed of those in
government.
The revolution had three
objectives: decolonize, democratize and develop. From your perspective,
were the ideals of the revolution achieved?
The ideals of the revolution were
achieved. Yet, the world has changed greatly in the last 40 years and new
challenges have emerged. Decolonization: despite the long civil wars in Angola
and Mozambique, after 1974, these African nations have remained linked to
Portugal by affection and economic interests. What we now call
“Lusofonia” has been the appropriate answer to current challenges.
Democratization: a “formal” democracy has been established and
guaranteed. However, to achieve a “real” democracy we are in need of new
political parties in order to counteract the oligarchic impositions that impoverished
us. Development: the country was finally provided with progress tools.
However, we need to support those who use these resources but have been
penalized by austerity policies. I think that the civil society will
produce new rulers with the ability to face our current problems. The
revolution still goes on.