The Social Democratic Party leader, Hugo Soares, voiced his stance on the Socialist Party’s initiative, while also criticizing Chega’s actions in proposing a parliamentary inquiry into forest fires.
During the debate’s opening, Socialist deputy André Rijo raised concerns about the incidents in August, questioning potential failures in prevention, resource mobilization, timely international support, and the strategy for firefighting coordination.
André Rijo highlighted the need for a consensual method and the establishment of a suitable structure to evaluate the situation and provide the necessary answers for the country.
He emphasized that the initiative to establish an Independent Technical Commission to analyze the 2025 rural fires aims to ensure a comprehensive and factual investigation, comparing it with previous years, particularly from 2018 to last year, to identify operational failures.
André Rijo stated that the independent commission should assess the effectiveness of current public policies and produce a final report with specific short, medium, and long-term recommendations to strengthen the forest fire defense model.
Considering this year’s negative and troubling reality, he suggests revisiting the previously agreed formula by creating an independent technical commission comprising 12 renowned experts.
Politically, the PS representative criticized the Prime Minister, distinguishing the socialist initiative from what he termed the “justice-seeking” and “populism” demonstrated by Luís Montenegro last year, which linked fires to criminal activities with promised results.
The PS deputy mentioned that in 2024, Luís Montenegro announced the formation of a specialized team with the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of Justice to pursue criminals and interests around forest fires, indirectly questioning the competence of Portuguese law enforcement and criminal justice bodies.
Soon after, the Chega president voiced strong criticism of the PS initiative, likening it to “Melhoral,” which “does neither good nor harm.”
He argued, “There have been two independent technical commissions in the past with no results, just talk. Take responsibility. In this debate, the PSD and PS are already aligning their positions against Chega,” he added.
