Portugal’s president suggests debt cancellation to repair colonial, slavery legacy

By Sergio Goncalves LISBON (Reuters) – President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said on Saturday Portugal could use several methods to pay reparations for atrocities committed during transatlantic slavery and the colonial era, such as cancelling the debt of former colonies and providing financing. From the 15th to the 19th century, 6 million Africans were kidnapped and forcibly transported across the Atlantic by Portuguese vessels and sold into slavery, primarily to Brazil. The president said on Tuesday that Portugal was responsible for crimes committed during transatlantic slavery and the colonial era, and suggested there was a need for reparations. His words sparked strong criticism from right-wing parties, including the junior partner of the Democratic Alliance government coalition, CDS-Popular Party, and the far-right Chega. The leader of the parliamentary bench of the CDS-Partido Popular, Paulo Nuncio, said on Thursday that his party “does not need to revisit colonial legacies, reparation duties, which seem imported from outside”. Chega leader Andre Ventura said that the behavior of the president was “a betrayal of the country”. “We cannot put this under the carpet or in a drawer. We have an obligation to pilot, to lead this process (of reparations)”, the president told reporters on Saturday....