“We should not continue to be a country with an economy based on low wages,” stated the presidential candidate supported by the PCP, António Filipe, in Rio Maior, where he expressed solidarity with the workers of Nobre Alimentação company, currently observing their 23rd strike in the last two years.
“If we want the country to move forward, for the economy to develop, workers in our country need to be better paid,” António Filipe told Lusa, lamenting the lack of “political power aligned with the workers’ goals and understanding that the country’s growth depends on valuing those who work.”
Unfortunately, “that is not happening nowadays,” he commented outside the Nobre company in Rio Maior, Santarém district, assuring the strike picket that “as long as there are workers fighting for their professional advancement,” they can count on his support.
When asked about the candidacy announcement by the former leader of Iniciativa Liberal and MEP, João Cotrim de Figueiredo, for the Presidency, António Filipe expressed a “complete sense of calm” regarding the entry of another candidate in the race.
This is particularly because he believes his candidacy “is distinct from all the others,” considering his interpretation of the Portuguese Constitution: “a progressive Constitution, an advanced Constitution in matters of fundamental social rights, including labor rights.”
The country “needs a President who is identified with these principles and values,” he added, describing himself as “the only candidate presented” with “total alignment with the fundamental principles and values of April enshrined in the 1976 Constitution, particularly the magnificent set of fundamental social rights it consecrates.”
