Comrade Álvaro Cunhal has died. His physical death brings us a great feeling of grief and loss.

The Communists, the workers, the Portuguese people, the Communist and revolutionary movement have lost a great man, a builder of their liberating cause.

The lifetime of a man is always a brief time in the historic process of human society. This was the case with comrade Álvaro.

However, he had the privilege of living in a time and a century of great events which saw fascinating progress and achievements, as well as tragic reversals and defeats.

He lived through these times not merely observing and interpreting the events, but playing an active role in the struggle for the freedom of his people and for democracy in his country, without renouncing his internationalist vision and dimension.

The political praxis of the Party collective, of which he was a builder and interpreter, together with a profound and outstanding assimilation of Marxism-Leninism in its two-fold dimension as a means of explaining and of transforming the world, made of Álvaro Cunhal Portugal's most outstanding political thinker of the 20th. Century.

His theoretical political work – whether in collecting facts or in drawing his conclusions - was never considered by him as such, despite its unquestionable merit.

In the elaboration of his works, both political and literary, he always tried to learn and always managed to accept the opinion of both the humblest militant and the most credentialed expert.

In the framework of the great collective that he at all times and throughout his whole life embraced, and that his intelligence, political, ideological, moral and physical courage helped to build, comrade Álvaro Cunhal gave a contribution of historic proportions to the struggle of the Portuguese people to overthrow the fascist dictatorship. His name will forever be linked to the Portuguese Revolution of April 25th .

With unwavering convictions, when put to the test of brutal conditions by the henchmen of fascism who tried to break him physically, psychologically and intellectually, Álvaro Cunhal not only resisted but always came back ready to fight.

His revolutionary determination, his steadfastness in defending principles and the harshness of many struggles often prevented the disclosure of his humanist dimension towards the weaker, the poorer and the most exploited and particularly towards children, with whom his touching affection was surprising, in an apparent contradiction with his tenacity and determination.

His creativity and artistic work reveal the greatness of his soul, which was so often expressed in a drawing made in prison or during the recess of a meeting, proving what he once said about the inexistence of blank areas in his life.

We feel the pain of loss. We miss comrade Álvaro!

And that is why his figure and personality will be held in the memory of our heart.

But his example, his work, will not die because we shall do what he would have wished us to do: without personal idolatry, without dogmatic views or scholarly interpretations of his ideas or his work, but rather using them as tools with concrete application to reality, to life, to the struggle, to the ideal and goals of our Party.

Yes, we miss him!

But as he himself used to say, the key to the future strengthening and influence of our Party, besides the merit of the individual capacities of this or that militant, of this or that leader, will fundamentally lie in our collective capacity, in our unity and cohesion, in our capacity to bond with the workers and the people, to live their problems and aspirations and fight for their solution and materialization, pursuing our national struggle as the best contribution that we can give to the development of our internationalist action and dimension and to our relationship with the communist parties, the revolutionary and progressive forces.

To strive as he ambitioned, to pursue our goal of an advanced democracy at the threshold of the 21st. century, having on the horizon the construction of a society freed from capitalist exploitation and oppression, building socialism based upon the convictions, the values, ideals, principles, ideology and project that inspired the life of comrade Álvaro Cunhal up to the last moment.

The superior political, ideological, intellectual and human dimension of comrade Álvaro Cunhal has been firmly engraved in this Party that is ours, in this Party collective that is firm in its ideals and its principles; in this Party collective of fraternity and solidarity, united in a huge embrace of comradeship and friendship.

As his last wish he set in writing that the idea that would particularly please him would be to have at his funeral, without any speeches, the farewell (if possible) namely from his comrades “from the highest ranking to the humblest and least known” with whom, before and after 25th. April he fought to the last days of his life, and also from family members he held very dear, “his dear daughter and her children, his sister, his companion, beloved wife and other close family members” and “also friends without a Party” and “men and women and young people that he came to esteem and respect” and “others who may wish to be present, respecting his whole life as a communist, with virtues and flaws, merits and demerits, like any other human being”.

The Central Committee of the PCP is certain and convinced that today and tomorrow, the Communists, the workers, the youth, the Portuguese democrats and patriots, in paying tribute at the time of farewell to comrade Álvaro Cunhal, will abide by this last wish of his.

With a new but identical certainty and commitment. For us, Communists of our times, the struggle continues!