The Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, stated that declaring a state of calamity offers no “utility” currently, asserting that no town mayor has explained why it should be enforced. Regarding the measures, Castro Almeida discussed the dates for seeking support, acknowledging that emigrants and the homes they ‘left behind’ are excluded, and insurance should be considered in these cases.
“Declaring or not declaring a state of calamity is a false issue. What is happening in the country is a calamity, that’s for sure. Declaring a state of calamity has legal consequences,” he said in an interview with SIC Notícias, responding to the ‘resistance’ to do so despite requests from some mayors.
“I haven’t heard anyone saying ‘it’s necessary to declare a state of calamity’ explain why. What result do you want to achieve? I don’t know. Nobody has explained it to me,” the minister continued, pointing out that even the mayors who request it do not explain.
“I spoke with dozens of mayors. There are those who ask for it and those who do not. To all whom I asked, ‘why, for what, what result do you want to achieve?’, nobody explained why they wanted a state of calamity,” he stated, arguing that nothing in the state of calamity’s legal consequences “will solve the problems we have.”
Castro Almeida further justified that in recent weeks there were no issues entering private lands, which would have been one of the ‘facilities’ in place had the state of calamity been activated. Rejecting the need for such a measure, the minister stressed: “The necessary measures are different. It’s a false issue. It’s a slogan that was launched.”
“If someone explains to me why, what problem it solves, the Government is fully open to undertake all measures necessary to solve problems. Perhaps some mayors might think: ‘The situation is calamitous. If we officially declare a state of calamity, something good will happen.’ But the positive outcomes will come from the decree-law we approved yesterday – which goes much further in providing support to people than the state of calamity. Here, I see no utility. If it’s demonstrated as useful, we’ll consider it. No taboo,” he assured.
Support “before ten days” (and the dates)
The minister was questioned about the measures announced on Thursday, which have a time limitation. Regarding this limitation, Castro Almeida indicated that the window for support was effective from July 26. “That’s when this outbreak of fires began, this almost uncontrolled situation […], the normal means of Civil Protection ceased to be sufficient for assisting people. This is the logic. Not just any fire warrants state intervention; the justification for compensation,” he said, indicating that these special supports apply when the fire dimensions exceed the “normal means that the state provides under Civil Protection.”
The minister added that these supports might be requested until “the end of the year or a little later,” from the publication of the decree-law. “I think it will happen next week; if the President of the Republic is as expedient as he usually is in these circumstances, conditions are set for the decree to be published and come into force as early as the beginning of next week, and people can immediately start requesting the support. What I can guarantee is that before ten days, support will start reaching people,” he stated.
It should be noted that last Friday, the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, discussed the measures announced yesterday by the Executive and concerning the framework law, emphasized: “I’m waiting for it to reach Belém, it will go directly to the President.”
The head of state, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, mentioned having ‘warned’ about August 15, when combating the flames could worsen due to the convergence of three fires. The President declined to comment on the government’s communication, which is facing criticism, but he noted plainly: “Deciding at the last minute often comes too late.”
And the emigrants’ homes?
The minister was further questioned about another measure, namely the support for the reconstruction of main residence homes. When confronted if emigrants’ homes are excluded, Castro Almeida emphasized that “the foreseen regime, very generous, is for primary residences. People need to have a place to sleep, a roof over their heads. We are not offering support to restore people’s economic status, but to provide living conditions.”
“The situation foreseen is for people to have a place to sleep. ‘Is my wealth diminished?’ I should have insurance for that.’ It’s not about restoring people’s wealth; it’s about having a place to sleep. And factories are for people having a place to work: that’s the logic. The pine trees also burned and we are not going to pay for pine trees or eucalyptus. There’s a diminution of wealth. We are creating living conditions for people,” he continued.
Asked if it seemed fair that these homes, where emigrants often return, were not considered, the minister justified: “The incentive is that they should take out home insurance. If we go along with this, we are discouraging insurance. If you have a main residence and didn’t take out insurance, shall we ‘punish’ that? Because there’s no insurance? It’s not about punishment, but you must have a place to live. We will help rebuild your main residence because you need a place to sleep. Has your wealth diminished? That’s your problem; you should have taken out insurance for it.”
