Portugal's former first lady mourned by thousands

Portugal's former first lady Maria Barroso was mourned by thousands on Wednesday in Portuguese capital Lisbon.

President of Portugal Anibal Cavaco Silva, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho and former leader of the Socialist Party Antonio Jose Seguro were among prominent figures present at the funeral mass.

Maria Barroso, also a former actress, died this Tuesday aged 90 at Lisbon's red cross hospital where she had been for almost two weeks, after an accident on a staircase led her to fall into coma.

She was together with former President Mario Soares, the founder of Portugal's center-left Socialist Party. They both defied the rule by Salazar and were forced into exile.

After 1974 her husband became foreign minister and then president while Barroso became a lawmaker.

Soares was given condolences by many people this Wednesday who received him with hugs and tears, and was accompanied by his son Joao Soares, who read a poem dedicated by Mario Soares to his wife while he was in jail with his wife in 1962. Endit