Ephemera Exhibition Unveils Hidden Sá Carneiro Collection
The Ephemera Archive inaugurated this Thursday in Lisbon the exhibition "Francisco Sá Carneiro and the Construction of Portuguese Democracy," showcasing the personal collection of the former Prime Minister. According to curator José Pacheco Pereira, these documents "change the history of Portugal."
Curated by historian and former PSD deputy José Pacheco Pereira, the exhibition was previously presented in Porto on April 23 this year and opens in the capital at "Lisboa social Mitra" at 3:00 PM. The exhibition aims to showcase Sá Carneiro's collection, which includes manuscripts, correspondence, meeting notes, and personal diaries.
Pacheco Pereira explained to Lusa news agency that much of this collection "was hidden" in the home of Sá Carneiro's former secretary, Conceição Monteiro, because the former Prime Minister "did not have much trust in leaving his papers with the party."
The documentation traces Sá Carneiro's life from his participation in the Liberal Wing during the Estado Novo, through the founding of the PPD/PSD, and the process of democratic consolidation, including records from his final days of life.
Pacheco Pereira states that the unprecedented nature of this document collection "changes the history of Portugal," citing as examples the role of social democrats in the PREC and the 25th of November, or the PPD's intention to join the Socialist International—aspects of the party's history that are now "ignored," he laments.
"The PPD tried to enter the Socialist International. This is treated as a footnote. It's not true. The documentation shows the enormous importance that Sá Carneiro and PPD leaders gave to joining the Socialist International. It shows how most socialist parties and laborites in Europe wanted the PPD in the International and how Mário Soares sabotaged this entry," explains Pacheco Pereira.
The social democrat also emphasizes that this exhibition contains "much documentation about the 25th of November," the existence of a completely unknown intelligence service within the PSD, internal party conflicts, as well as "the major campaigns against Sá Carneiro conducted by the PS, PCP, and CGTP."
Regarding the 25th of November, the social democrat notes that the existing documentation does not support what he calls the "enormous fraud of the commemorations" of that date promoted by the current PSD/CDS-PP government.
Pacheco Pereira also recalls that an "abject campaign" was orchestrated, "the responsibility of the Socialist Party, under the pretext of his divorce and his relationship with Snu Abecassis."
This collection, the historian recounts, was donated to Ephemera by Conceição Monteiro after a conversation between them, while both were deputies, in which Sá Carneiro's secretary asked him if he "wanted some papers" from the founder of the then PPD.
"When I went to her house to start bringing that, which I thought would be one or two folders, it was everything, Sá Carneiro's entire life. From before the 25th of April until the day of his death, there are things from the day of his death," he recalls.
Pacheco Pereira says it amounts to 12 meters of documentation and laments that there is not more academic research on these and other documents from Ephemera. He also regrets that academia has a "lack of imagination" and ends up focusing exhaustively on "fashionable topics" such as racism, LGBTQI+ issues, and feminism.
The exhibition can be visited until January 31, with free admission, from Tuesday to Friday, 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM, and on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
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