The Portuguese Republic Centennial

I’d like to thank the freemasonry for having killed King Carlos I, in 1908. One of the reasons of the regicide was the generalised discontentment towards the Royal Family for having allegedly humiliated Portugal (by obediently handing over Rhodesia to the British government led by Lord Salisbury); but one can guess the real reason: the masons wanted to get and spend as much as His Royal Highness.

On the 5th of October 1910, at 11:00 in the morning; after much confusion, revolution and exile of the Royal Family; the Portuguese Res Publica was born. On the 20th of April 1911, the bill of separation between state and church was passed.

I would also like to thank the Catholic Church for having placed the good catholic fascist, António de Oliveira Salazar, in power (1932-1968). Thanks to him, Portugal was blessed with a dictatorship; people couldn’t begin to think “Cogito ergo sum” without being arrested by the secret police (PIDE) and tortured, freedom of expression was an unattainable dream; the nation had loads of money (in 1928, when darling Salazar took office as the Minister of Finance, he put the national accounts in order...deficit was an unknown word by then); our currency was accepted anywhere in the world; our citizens were illiterate (75% of illiteracy in the country), only the elites would go to school; we had no roads, no signs of development or modernity...if we wanted modernity or development we’d have to go to the colonies.

I’d like to thank the freemasons, once again, for having helped organising the revolution of 1974, and then cowardly leaving the country in the hands of communists and socialists who ruined Portugal for the subsequent 36 years (yes, meanwhile we had 3 central-right wing governments from which only 1 developed this country so successfully that until today Right Wingers cry for another Cavaco Silva [our present President, who at the time left the country with a surplus] and Left Wingers bash him [by calling him Salazar] for lack of courage to admit that he was the greatest PM of Portugal, during the Rechtsstaat [State of Law]).

After the revolution the rich were persecuted, their assets were seized and nationalised; many were arrested, others were forced into exile; the state became “rich” on assets that didn’t know how to manage; the country learned new words such as “debt”, “deficit”, “high taxes”, “IMF”...but it also learned new concepts like “free education”, “partially free health care”, “freedom of speech” (at least until 2005, when this present socialist government first took office and began hunting down journalists that would criticise “the regime”) and “bank loans”...

Our Republic is 100 years: Happy Anniversary!!!

So much trouble to dethrone a prodigal Royal Family to empower prodigal governments; and then empower frugal fascists; then empower thriftless left-inspired governments; then bring to power a frugal yet competent government; to then bring us to this present thriftless socialist-government that wastes money like there’s no tomorrow and led Portugal to recall bad words such as “IMF”, “deficit”, “debt”, “empty coffers”, “sell gold reserves” and learn new vocabulary like “credit ratings”, “Moody’s”, “Standard & Poor's”...

Would’ve it been so terrible if Portugal had remained a Monarchy? The Republic hasn't proved to be any better than the previous system, except for the commoners: they also got to suckle from the same nipple...

Republic: Hip Hip, Hurray!

Image: Day of the Republic Proclamation borrowed from here.