This pact, however, is today under attack. Not only by demagogues and populists on the left and right who exploit the most basic emotions, but also by fanatics who, in the name of alleged greater goods, feel authorized to resort to violence to impose their vision of the world.
History teaches us that it is precisely when someone becomes convinced that they are saving Humanity that it is in greatest danger.
What happened last weekend was not an isolated episode. It was yet another alarm signal, yet another reminder that Portuguese democracy, despite being solid, is not immune to the same forces that corrode other democracies around the world. It is added to other threats, such as those coming from the racist and xenophobic far right, which seeks to transform fear into a political program and division into a method of action.
Portugal continues to be a free, peaceful and democratic country, where everyone has the right to believe in whatever they want or nothing, as long as they respect the freedom of others. This is, perhaps, our greatest collective wealth. And it is also the most fragile, because it depends on something as simple and as difficult as mutual respect.
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