“The government of Luís Montenegro, the parliamentary bench of Hugo Soares, and essentially the right as a whole, govern for people who are similar to them, resembling what we’ve seen from their trajectory, especially when they were temporarily in hold before entering the government. Precisely what I call the Portugal of easy money: online gambling, mass tourism, luxury real estate,” he accused.
Rui Tavares was speaking on the sidelines of an action related to the municipal elections on the 12th of the month, during the now-traditional “ride” organized by the party in all election campaigns. This particular bike ride started today at the Alvalade square and concluded at Alameda.
When questioned about the headline in the newspaper Público, which reported today that there is not a single municipality in the country, including Lisbon, where the median sale or rent price is above the “moderate prices” the government aims to introduce, Tavares took the opportunity to levy new criticisms against the government’s measures on this issue.
Tavares accused Montenegro of being at an “extreme distance” from the real lives of the Portuguese people, pointing out that “the income gap between the Portuguese who cannot afford houses at feasible prices in their own country and the global demand for the housing market in Lisbon, often not for habitation purposes, but simply to buy and resell or generate income even when the houses remain empty, causes a distortion.”
This distortion, he argued, “can only be countered through taxation that discourages the luxury segment and encourages the construction of affordable rental housing,” rather than the so-called moderate rent values set by the government ranging between 400 and 2,300 euros.
“With an aggravating factor: by introducing enormous benefits in IRS for these so-called moderate rents, which are, as I say, fundamentally extremist views far removed from the reality of the Portuguese, they also introduce a great injustice between the income of those who work and the same income from rents,” he maintained.
For Tavares, “it makes no sense for someone who works hard to pay 25% or more in IRS while the same income in rents is taxed at 10%.”
The Livre spokesperson acknowledged that it might be “tempting and easy for many” to live off mass tourism, luxury real estate, or online gambling — one of the sectors the party seeks to regulate — but “the vast majority of the Portuguese do not depend on these activities.”
In this “ride,” Tavares was joined by a small entourage of about 15 people, some carrying flags of the “Viver Lisboa” coalition, which includes PS, Livre, BE, and PAN backing Alexandra Leitão, and others waving Palestinian flags.
Tavares emphasized that the municipal elections in Lisbon this year are “even more decisive” than four years ago when Fernando Medina (PS) lost the council to Carlos Moedas, the current president supported by PSD, CDS-PP, and IL.
“Because at the time it was not yet known that Carlos Moedas would turn out to be a president that the right gave to Lisbon even worse than Santana Lopes. Because Santana Lopes [who governed the capital in the early 2000s] had a vision for the city, and Carlos Moedas has no vision for the city, only ideas for himself,” he criticized.
The leader of the Livre also appealed to potential undecided left-leaning voters who might consider voting for João Ferreira (CDU – PCP/PEV coalition) to support Alexandra Leitão “if they don’t want to wake up on Monday, October 13th, regretting a result that, at the last moment, turned out contrary to what Lisbon needs.”
