Whatever the destination, we never stop dreaming of what could have been
It's been a long time since I last wrote a comment about the sad state of our political system in Cape Verde, but the truth is that it's been growing inside me for months. Right now, I feel I have no choice but to add my voice - my two pennies - to the complete disarray we are witnessing.
With the 2026 elections approaching, it seems that we are destined to continue the same downward spiral that has destroyed everything we have built - I'm not talking about roads or ports, but about society itself. I'm talking about the values that formed the backbone of our identity before and after independence: decency, respect for the law, honor for our elders and, above all, respect for each other.
Today, that foundation is disappearing.
The growth of social networks, combined with the obsession with imitating the standards of other societies, has profoundly transformed us. The beautiful and unique spirit that once defined Cape Verde is disappearing. Many of our politicians - some of whom have never truly assimilated the principles that shaped this nation - choose not to learn from our history. They ignore who we were as a people, the grace we carried, the dignity that characterized us.
We were once the ultimate example of class. Today, we don't know who we are.
We try to act like Westerners, but we refuse to embrace our place in Africa.
We want American dollars, but we don't invest in educating our children to understand who they really are.
And, in the end, we become diluted - slowly disappearing into a version of ourselves that barely exists.
What hurts the most is knowing that there are still many of us who remember the Cape Verde of yesterday, who carry its values in our hearts and who struggle daily to decide which way to go:
Do we stay and fight for the integrity and human dignity that formed us?
Or do we leave to build a new life elsewhere, where those principles are not lost?
Regardless of the destination, we never stop dreaming of what we could have been - of the infinite possibilities we had. Because if we had stayed true to the path we set out on, I truly believe that Cape Verde could have been one of the most beautiful and successful societies in the world.
Antonio Varela
