Catarina Martins, a member of the European Parliament, took to social media to discuss not only foreign policy, particularly concerning the United States, but also efforts to combat wildfires.
“If not now, when? I know this is a time to support populations and civil protection. A time of combat is solidarity. But we cannot forget the choices that abandon a significant part of Portugal,” the representative of the Left Bloc wrote on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
“This danger, these losses must be inscribed beyond the calendar,” she continued.
In the same post, Catarina Martins commented on statements made by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, who on Wednesday called for calm, reminding that Portugal did not have “unlimited capacity” and that managing crises was not easy.
Se não agora, quando? Bem sei que este é o tempo do apoio às populações e à proteção civil. Tempo de combate é solidariedade. Mas não podem ficar esquecidas as escolhas que abandonam boa parte de Portugal. Este perigo, estas perdas têm de ficar inscritas para lá do calendário.
— Catarina Martins (@catarina_mart) July 31, 2025
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, on Thursday, called for “calm” in light of wildfires that have ravaged Portugal in recent days. He also noted that “we do not have unlimited capacity” but “we have means.”
“After all, wasn’t it the same prime minister who said today [Thursday] that resources are not infinite, who promised NATO a more than 200% increase in spending? But are Trump’s tanks going to protect the population from wildfires? And what if we seriously talked about security?” she questioned.
On the social network, Catarina Martins continued to question alternative paths, particularly prevention: “And if we seriously protected the territory? There is no shortage of solid studies, well-thought-out solutions, feasible proposals. But they always remain on paper. Until when? And what if the forest and the rural world had, indeed, 5% of GDP for security?”
