João Cotrim Figueiredo, a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic, responded on Thursday to statements made by Manuela Moura Guedes, who accused him of being a “puppet of the Spanish” and forcing her to “terminate a contract with TVI”.
In a statement sent to Notícias ao Minuto, the MEP and former leader of the Liberal Initiative (IL) defended that when he assumed the role of general director of TVI, a position he held between 2010 and 2012, the journalist was already on “sick leave since September 2009” and he was later informed that “the minimum conditions” for her return were not met.
“When I took over the role of general director of TVI, in April 2010, the Jornal Nacional presented by Manuela Moura Guedes (MMG) had already been suspended, and the journalist was on sick leave since September 2009,” he initially stated in the note.
“When I entered, after these facts, it was communicated to me by the news management that the minimum conditions for MMG’s return to the newsroom were not met, a factor that I took into consideration and conveyed to MMG herself within the scope of the contractual termination process,” he added.
The liberal stated that “fifteen years later,” Manuela Moura Guedes “exhibits incomprehensible memory lapses,” recalling “things that did not happen” and forgetting those that “actually happened.”
João Cotrim Figueiredo emphasized that “there was never any subservience” on his part “to the Spanish shareholders” and underlined that he left TVI due to being “incompatible with these same shareholders.”
In the note, the candidate for the Presidency of the Republic also stated that Manuela Moura Guedes even praised the “humane way” in which he managed her exit from TVI, “always considering the personal and professional circumstances she was in.”
This controversy arose from a Facebook post by Manuela Moura Guedes, where she commented on João Cotrim Figueiredo’s appearance on the show ‘Dois às 10’, accusing him of forcing her to terminate the contract with TVI.
“It’s a pity Dr. Cotrim was a puppet of the Spanish, who owned Media Capital at the time, and threw press freedom to the wind. It was he, amid threats of lawsuits, who forced me to terminate my contract with TVI, during a very difficult time in my professional life,” she stated.
For the journalist, who highlighted that Jornal Nacional “was the most-watched of all Portuguese channels and the one that generated the most revenue,” “the owner’s voice spoke louder than principles and good management.”
“When, on a Sunday night (!), I went to sign the termination at my lawyer’s office, not a single representative from TVI was there, cowardly no one! No, this man does not inspire confidence in me for the Presidency of the Republic,” she declared.
Mariline Direito Rodrigues | 14:40 – 16/10/2025
