“I am watching the situation in Gaza with great concern. Firstly, it is horrifying from a humanitarian perspective. In just the last three days, 100 people have died, 21 of whom are children due to hunger. This is chilling,” stated the Presidential candidate.
Luís Marques Mendes added that “the silence of the West, particularly Europe, is absolutely unacceptable.”
“I think Europe is behaving with great hypocrisy. Europe rightly criticized Russia for civilian attacks in Ukraine and now has nothing stern to say to Israel, which is also attacking civilians in Gaza. There cannot be double standards,” he remarked.
Marques Mendes believes “Europe should act, and above all, follow a principle: Israel is a friend of Portugal and Europe, but friends exist to have the courage to tell the truth.”
“Therefore, Portugal and Europe should say to a friendly country: boundaries are being crossed, and human rights must be restored in the Gaza Strip,” he emphasized.
The Presidential candidate spoke to journalists today during a visit to the Mountain Research Center of the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, which he described as a success story.
More than 120 personalities, mainly related to Culture, are the leading signatories of a petition urging Portugal to take an active role in defending Human Rights and ending the genocide in Gaza.
The online petition includes signatories from music, theater, cinema, visual arts, literature, politics, and other areas.
The signatories want Portugal to play an active and significant role in promoting peace and defending Human Rights.
They aim to have three fundamental points discussed in the Assembly of the Republic: “The need to call for an immediate ceasefire; Urging Israel to allow the immediate entry of medical and humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza through the United Nations; the Government and the Assembly of the Republic’s recognition that a genocide is ongoing in Gaza.”
During a visit to the Mountain Research Center (CIMO) of the institute in Bragança, Marques Mendes advocated that IPB is a success story and should be more widely recognized at the national level for its talent attraction.
“IPB is a success story for several reasons: first, for the high number of students; second, for the high number of international students; third, for its extraordinary scientific production, and fourth, its international recognition with several partnerships from other countries, notably Brazil, essentially, a center capable of fostering development,” he said.
According to Luís Marques Mendes, the creation of polytechnic education was one of the most important decisions in 50 years of democracy in Portugal, helping the country’s interior.
“The interior of the country is often talked about negatively, and I wanted to show there are remarkable things, especially in higher education, where there is a successful Portugal with extraordinary results,” he noted.
The candidate visited the CIMO laboratories at IPB, where he exchanged views with students, teachers, and researchers at this “center of excellence” during a campaign event for the 2026 presidential elections.
“IPB is doing remarkable work, where there is talent and extraordinary things to show the world. I leave here with a very positive impression,” emphasized Luís Marques Mendes.
IPB is attended by more than 8,000 students. This number includes students from various study cycles, such as undergraduate and master’s degrees, distributed across the cities of Bragança and Mirandela.
