Americans in Portugal organise demo for “sane pro-democratic America”
Americans living in Portugal are to organise a protest later this month in Lisbon on what they say is the current administration’s continued erosion of democracy, the rule of law and policies that are not aligned with the wishes and values of the American people.
In a statement, Americans in Portugal say they know that United States politics and policies no longer stop at the border. Among the communities of Americans living outside the US, the AMPT UP Community, based in Lisbon, is one of the most engaged in “standing up for a sane pro-democratic America”.
“Portugal may be a small country, but our community of American expats and immigrants are on the front lines of exercising our democratic right to speak up and tell our government in Washington DC what we think of the job they are doing in our name.
At the moment, they are wildly out-of-sync with the wishes and values of the American people… including Americans who live outside the US. Furthermore, our government has shown itself to be brazenly corrupt, which is not only an insult to citizen values, but corruption is ultimately what brings down governments”, say the AMPT UP community.
And adds: “We refuse to have our democracy taken down because of the greed of a handful of criminals using illegitimate power to suppress people power. In other words, we’re mad as hell, and we want our government and the world to know it. As Trump and his corrupt cronies work to take away our democracy, we’re fighting back… non-violently, of course. All across America, millions will come out to send our government a message. And we in the international community will be out in force, too. We want the whole world to know that we stand in solidarity with the No Kings protesters in the US”.
The expat group stresses that its members are grateful for the opportunity to live in Portugal, but know they have a duty to stand up for what’s right in America, too. “What’s happening now is not right. You know it, and we know it. It affects Americans… and it affects the world, too”.
In Lisbon, AMPT UP will be protesting at:
Praça do Comércio from 3:00pm to 4:00pm on Saturday, March 28
“We expect a very large turnout, and we hope your media organization will be there to cover it. It’s important to let our neighbors in Portugal and our fellow Americans know that we AMPT UPers support democratic values. Mass mobilizations are citizens’ most effective way to bring about change. And media coverage is essential to help us get the word out. Every voice counts, and they’re going to hear us in America on March 28”.
