TheRedAnarchist23
2nd March 2013, 22:07
Today, the second day of March of 2013, there was a huge demonstration in Portugal.
This one, unlike the ones before it, was not organized by the CGTP, it was organized by the people and the movement "Que se lixe a troika" (screw the troika). Simply by checking the news the days before the demonstration you could already begin to notice how enormous it was going to be.
It was held in 40 cities of the country, and some outside of the country (like Boston and London).
I only know the details of the demonstration in Lisboa, since that is where I live.
Several marches occured all over downtown Lisboa, starting more or less at 14:00. They were all going to converge at Marquês de Pombal at 16:00, a big roundabout that connects to the Avenida da Liberdade, the big avenue that goes in the direction of the river, and Terreiro do Paço, a big plaza where the demonstration was supposed to end, more or less at 18:00.
I tried to recruit friends of mine, from my school to come with me, but they were all cowards and none followed me. One girl almost came with me, but her mother did not let her come. So I had to come with my mother and my sister.
We were going to start all the way back at a place where a march for education was going to be held, and we would follow them, and in the middle we would be joined by a march for health, and a march of retired people. We would all march together to Marquês de Pombal.
The problem was, when we got to the place where the march for education was supposed to start, at 14:00, there were only about 5 people, a megaphone car, and some flags. We did not know what to think.
So we went ahead to the place where the march for health was going to be held: the back of a maternity. There were only like 15 people there, but they were more than those in the education one. My mother knew 2 people there, one is a spanish communist woman, and the other a portuguese woman with a very loud voice. So we stayed with them.
We were told that we would only be leaving after the education march.
We had to wait for almost 1 hour for the education march to finaly get there, but now there were way more than 5. They were hundreds!
Their numbers multiplied while we waited, and now they streached all the way across the avenue. The marches combined.
We then made our way, with hundreds of people beside us, to Marquês de Pombal.
The Roundabout (Marquês de Pombal) was filled to burst with people, many with signs and flags (Pics will be posted), and chanting different messages. In the news they said there were 500000 people outside demonstrating, just in Lisboa, but we all know there were many more. All the marches united there, and together, thousands marched down the Avenida da Liberdade towards the big plaza.
At 18:30 we were half way there, when everybody begun singing Grandola vila morena. It is very hard to imagine thousands of people at the same time singing Grandola vila morena. I can only say that is was epic ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci76cKwFLDs).
We never reached Terreiro do Paço, because there were way too many people ahead. The plaza was full and there was a huge line of people not even close to it. We would have stayed there all night before getting to our destination. That should say something about the number of people that attended.
It was the largest demonstration in the history of the country.
Now for the pictures:
The ammount of people at the Terreiro do Paço (I did not take this one):
http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/374547_531225930234191_1449677022_n.jpg
All other pictures are mine:
March for Education:
http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/481710_112244668961698_2007398895_n.jpg
http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/599118_112244302295068_2033267133_n.jpg
http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/625444_112245275628304_2059237119_n.jpg
"Students of all the world unite"
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/11502_112245405628291_935982808_n.jpg
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/69291_112246922294806_1978120208_n.jpg
Marquês de Pombal:
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/599100_112247722294726_1911051708_n.jpg
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/482719_112247982294700_1589154123_n.jpg
http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/420287_112247818961383_1569982993_n.jpg
http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/544487_112248318961333_1404409253_n.jpg
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/563307_112248335627998_1143122633_n.jpg
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/426471_112248502294648_1799038751_n.jpg
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/553209_112248522294646_1110286760_n.jpg
http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/295691_112248585627973_1365464063_n.jpg
"MAS (Movimento Alternativo Socialista (socialist alternative movement)), We are missing a new 25 of April" (the day of the revolution that ended fascism in Portugal)
http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/482661_112249132294585_376146784_n.jpg
The only Fawkes mask in all of Portugal
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/540787_112249355627896_557256345_n.jpg
"The people are the bosses here!"
http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/166748_112249292294569_2100993884_n.jpg
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/12160_112249025627929_2109917931_n.jpg
"Big scandal! He is not Coelho (coelho= rabbit, and the prime minister is called Passos Coelho) he is a big horse!(insult)
http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/66906_112250398961125_1855013506_n.jpg
Hanging a rabbit (coelho).
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/72321_112250318961133_629261335_n.jpg
This one, unlike the ones before it, was not organized by the CGTP, it was organized by the people and the movement "Que se lixe a troika" (screw the troika). Simply by checking the news the days before the demonstration you could already begin to notice how enormous it was going to be.
It was held in 40 cities of the country, and some outside of the country (like Boston and London).
I only know the details of the demonstration in Lisboa, since that is where I live.
Several marches occured all over downtown Lisboa, starting more or less at 14:00. They were all going to converge at Marquês de Pombal at 16:00, a big roundabout that connects to the Avenida da Liberdade, the big avenue that goes in the direction of the river, and Terreiro do Paço, a big plaza where the demonstration was supposed to end, more or less at 18:00.
I tried to recruit friends of mine, from my school to come with me, but they were all cowards and none followed me. One girl almost came with me, but her mother did not let her come. So I had to come with my mother and my sister.
We were going to start all the way back at a place where a march for education was going to be held, and we would follow them, and in the middle we would be joined by a march for health, and a march of retired people. We would all march together to Marquês de Pombal.
The problem was, when we got to the place where the march for education was supposed to start, at 14:00, there were only about 5 people, a megaphone car, and some flags. We did not know what to think.
So we went ahead to the place where the march for health was going to be held: the back of a maternity. There were only like 15 people there, but they were more than those in the education one. My mother knew 2 people there, one is a spanish communist woman, and the other a portuguese woman with a very loud voice. So we stayed with them.
We were told that we would only be leaving after the education march.
We had to wait for almost 1 hour for the education march to finaly get there, but now there were way more than 5. They were hundreds!
Their numbers multiplied while we waited, and now they streached all the way across the avenue. The marches combined.
We then made our way, with hundreds of people beside us, to Marquês de Pombal.
The Roundabout (Marquês de Pombal) was filled to burst with people, many with signs and flags (Pics will be posted), and chanting different messages. In the news they said there were 500000 people outside demonstrating, just in Lisboa, but we all know there were many more. All the marches united there, and together, thousands marched down the Avenida da Liberdade towards the big plaza.
At 18:30 we were half way there, when everybody begun singing Grandola vila morena. It is very hard to imagine thousands of people at the same time singing Grandola vila morena. I can only say that is was epic ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci76cKwFLDs).
We never reached Terreiro do Paço, because there were way too many people ahead. The plaza was full and there was a huge line of people not even close to it. We would have stayed there all night before getting to our destination. That should say something about the number of people that attended.
It was the largest demonstration in the history of the country.
Now for the pictures:
The ammount of people at the Terreiro do Paço (I did not take this one):
http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/374547_531225930234191_1449677022_n.jpg
All other pictures are mine:
March for Education:
http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/481710_112244668961698_2007398895_n.jpg
http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/599118_112244302295068_2033267133_n.jpg
http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/625444_112245275628304_2059237119_n.jpg
"Students of all the world unite"
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/11502_112245405628291_935982808_n.jpg
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/69291_112246922294806_1978120208_n.jpg
Marquês de Pombal:
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/599100_112247722294726_1911051708_n.jpg
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/482719_112247982294700_1589154123_n.jpg
http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/420287_112247818961383_1569982993_n.jpg
http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/544487_112248318961333_1404409253_n.jpg
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/563307_112248335627998_1143122633_n.jpg
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/426471_112248502294648_1799038751_n.jpg
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/553209_112248522294646_1110286760_n.jpg
http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/295691_112248585627973_1365464063_n.jpg
"MAS (Movimento Alternativo Socialista (socialist alternative movement)), We are missing a new 25 of April" (the day of the revolution that ended fascism in Portugal)
http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/482661_112249132294585_376146784_n.jpg
The only Fawkes mask in all of Portugal
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/540787_112249355627896_557256345_n.jpg
"The people are the bosses here!"
http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/166748_112249292294569_2100993884_n.jpg
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/12160_112249025627929_2109917931_n.jpg
"Big scandal! He is not Coelho (coelho= rabbit, and the prime minister is called Passos Coelho) he is a big horse!(insult)
http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/66906_112250398961125_1855013506_n.jpg
Hanging a rabbit (coelho).
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/72321_112250318961133_629261335_n.jpg