The image of an austere man who could still persist over Ramalho Eanes will have been definitively replaced by that of a humanist – whoever knows him guarantees that he is one of his main characteristics, alongside ethics and solidarity. The deep-voiced man who entered the Portuguese home into the post-April 25s with a frown gave in to emotion. And moved many people with his words: “I speak because I am an old man, I am 85 years old … And if anything there is an obligation to tell others that this has already happened, that it has been overcome, that it will be overcome. We, the old people, will set an example. We don’t leave the house, we systematically resort to the care that is indicated to us and when we arrive at the hospital, if necessary, we offer our ventilator to the man who has a wife and children “.
It was the most emblematic phrase of the interview that happened on Wednesday night at RTP, conducted by Fátima Campos Ferreira. But there were many others, in which he spoke of how the world, the European Union and in particular Portugal are leading the fight against the new coronavirus, but he also called for the solidarity and unity that are so necessary in these difficult times. And he spoke of faith and love. An intervention that showed the ethics of the general who refused to be a marshal; the former President of the Republic – the first elected in democracy by free and universal suffrage – who refused the State’s compensation of one million euros to which he was entitled because of his pension; the then lieutenant colonel who, on November 25, 1975, led the group that managed to stop the attempted coup by another faction of the armed forces.
“He is a person of great sensitivity. The distancing and coldness he seems to be does not correspond to the core of what Ramalho Eanes is,” says Admiral Melo Gomes, who was a field assistant in the Presidency of the Republic; “Only those who have authority, who are authors, who are founders are authentic and Eanes is a kind of Afonso Henriques of our democracy”, underlines the politologist Adelino Maltez; “The fund that cohabits this speech is the Christian spirit”, understands Father Anselmo Borges; “He revealed the essence, the ethical principles, which have always guided his life”, considers Lima Coelho, president of the National Association of Sergeants.
Adelino Maltez starts by saying that Ramalho Eanes is a historical reference, a commander of men who at RTP gave the example of the experience of commanders in wars. “The speech was guided by a great rationality. It had a list of values that we call integral humanism”, he adds, remembering that we heard a man who studied, got his doctorate and proved it, even by the quotes he made.
The professor who says he was delirious with the speech, remembers that others of his age will have already hated the general. But one thing is certain: “Eanes did combine democracy with the sociological majority of the Portuguese people. Yesterday we remembered and realized what a political leader is, who thinks like the common man.”
“Eanes helped a lot to implant democracy”
In spite of everything, there are also things that did not go well: “Eanes was a terrible party leader. But he tried and, in the concept of classic law, fulfilled his mission”, says the professor of Political Science in a reference to the Democratic Renewal Party (PRD), that the general mentored and led.
The role of the then lieutenant colonel played on the 25th of November is also not forgotten, although Adelino Maltez insists that it was the work of a collective – “working with a collective has always been one of his great virtues”. “Eanes helped a lot to implant democracy. He was a rural man, in a rural country, he managed to speak to these people, to the common man, and helped to demilitarize the country.”
Anselmo Borges also mentions this historical dimension: “The country owes an immeasurable debt to it in relation to the establishment of democracy.”
Reasons in principle led Ramalho Eanes to refuse his promotion to marshal in 2000. “He wanted to be a politician and took that risk, made that choice. It was a lesson in humility”, says Adelino Maltez. Anselmo Borges emphasizes the same characteristic: “He is not looking for honors.”
He also dispensed with the retroactive payments to which he was entitled regarding retirement as a general – in 1984 Mário Soares made a law to prevent the salary of a President of the Republic from being accumulated with other state pensions. The law was changed, but Eanes refused compensation of one million euros.
“He demanded equality with others, but renounced what he was entitled to. It means that you have to be blunt and defend justice “, comments Anselmo Borges.
The university professor of Philosophy usually calls Ramalho Eanes “the general doctor”, in an allusion to the doctorate he did after leaving Belém – the thesis “Civil Society and Political Power in Portugal” was defended in 2006.
From what was left of the interview of the ex-president of the Republic to RTP, it highlights precisely humility. That, he says, was revealed in the assumption that all men are fragile, are not omnipotent and that death is part of our life.
Anselmo Borges has no doubt that Ramalho Eanes has done the country an immense service, in revealing serenity, but at the same time strength and force. “I was moved. I think most viewers were also moved when he said he would give the fan to another man. He would do it and that already implies sanctity“he says. Adding that the essence of the whole speech is the Christian spirit – Eanes even said that” Christ is pure love “.
The last time Father Anselmo Borges invited the general to a debate, the theme was God’s geostrategy. “Someone in the audience asked one of those annoying questions and he answered him” I know that, I went through the war, I saw men in fear of death, some falling by the bullets, and I had a responsibility towards those mothers and fathers “.”
I paid the expenses of the guests in Belém
Admiral Melo Gomes was the general’s field assistant in the Presidency of the Republic, picking up the transition from the first to the second term – António Ramalho Eanes was elected in June 1976 and re-elected in December 1980. He has known him well for many years. The content of the interview did not surprise him. “It reveals its entire ethical dimension. “More:” It was the same as it has always been, in values, principles, solidarity, patriotism, love of neighbor, country and Portuguese. “
Melo Gomes remembers to hand the salary receipt to the then President, still with the same values earned by Américo Thomaz, ten years earlier. “He insisted on paying all the bills related to the guests. A President has a lot of informal contacts and he didn’t put these expenses on the palace accounts, he was the one who paid. “
Still on salaries, the admiral, who was chief of staff of the Navy, recalls that a government diploma arrived in Belém that substantially increased the salary of the President, as well as that of ministers and deputies. Eanes preferred to stay with the salary he had and vetoed the diploma.
“The ethical position is a constant, defends its principles and is absolutely radical in relation to that. Lead by the example you set”, stresses Melo Gomes.
“Excessive leadership by the armed forces can mislead citizens”
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Lima Coelho, president of the National Association of Sergeants, does not deviate from his appreciation. “Ramalho Eanes revealed the essence, the ethical principles, which have always guided his life.”
He just did not like to hear him defend a greater role for the military in the health crisis that we are going through. “It revealed some mismatch in reality about what the armed forces are currently “, he says, in a reference to the scarcity of means.
And it is as a citizen who expresses his opinion: “In this phase that we are living in, the armed forces have to be fully available, as they are, but an excessive role in this difficult phase can mislead citizens and can lead to a better use undesirable in many ways. “
When Eanes gave the interview, it was a military man who spoke, Lima Lima says. A military man who lived through the Colonial War, the Abri Revolution and the post-revolution period. But it was also the man, especially when he said that he will dispense his fan to younger ones. “At no time can it be said that he said that old people do not deserve treatment. This excessive interpretation that I have seen on social networks is worrying.”
Throughout Ramalho Eanes’ journey, Anselmo Borges, in turn, makes a point of highlighting the role of women, Manuela Eanes. “They complement each other. It was a happy meeting.”
At the beginning of this text, António Ramalho Eanes’ s austere air was mentioned. The Philosophy professor has an explanation: “As in other people, also in the general doctor the hard air is a kind of protection for the immense affection that they have and the fear of manifesting themselves. In the interview, and also because we are experiencing a limit situation, that protection has fallen. “
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