The social democrat José Pacheco Pereira has issued sharp criticisms of the government led by Luís Montenegro, accusing it of displaying “enormous arrogance” regarding the foreign nationals law that was sent to the Constitutional Court by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. The historian remarked that the government members “all confess and attend mass, yet they forget a fundamental element, which is charity.”
“I believe this government is heading down a path with a precedent. That precedent is the Passos-Portas-Troika government, which frequently took unconstitutional measures and lost in the Constitutional Court in many aspects of its governance. What is happening is a disregard for constitutional norms, which is not, from the outset, a good sign,” he stated on CNN Portugal.
According to the former parliamentarian, “the government certainly knew this would raise issues of unconstitutionality,” which is why “there is a dangerous discussion that is also being had and which [he does] not see anyone, except Chega, discussing, which is the alteration of the composition of the Constitutional Court.”
“It’s somewhat like doing to the Constitutional Court what [Donald] Trump did with the U.S. Supreme Court. Such a measure would be absolutely unacceptable and would endanger many aspects of our democracy,” he considered.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, sent the foreign nationals law to the Constitutional Court this Thursday. The head of state requested a preventive review of the constitutionality of the norms regarding the right to family reunification and the conditions for its execution.
Daniela Filipe | 17:19 – 24/07/2025
Pacheco Pereira also cautioned that the fact that the government did not consult “anyone” to draft the foreign nationals law points to “a kind of enormous arrogance, ‘I want, I can, and I rule’“, in order to “present a law whose urgency does not exist, except under Chega’s pressure“.
“And this ‘I want, I can, and I rule’ regarding such a matter is evidently offensive. Procedures are the fundamental element of democracy itself. […] I admit that changes to the foreign nationals law could be enacted, but there is no reason to presume that it substantially alters the immigration issues we face in Portugal,” he said.
The social democrat went further by pointing out that “they all confess and attend mass, yet forget a fundamental element, which is charity, that human empathy with those who are more fragile“.
“The idea of complicating family reunification is, in my view, entirely contradictory with the notion of wanting to integrate immigrants. Immigrants are integrated by allowing them to have their families here, for their children to attend school and learn Portuguese,” he explained.
Furthermore, the historian indicated that the law “discriminates based on wealth“, noting that Chinese millionaires “will not be asked to learn Portuguese“.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, sent the foreign nationals law to the Constitutional Court last Thursday. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro remarked that the submission is “a normal procedure” and if the validation of the law by the Court “does not happen, Portugal will not end.”
Maria Gouveia with Lusa | 09:03 – 27/07/2025
“If you are a wealthy Chinese millionaire, you don’t need to learn Portuguese, you don’t need to go through any of the ordeal that other immigrants, who are neither Chinese nor wealthy, face. You buy a golden visa and quickly find a way to obtain nationality. This process discriminates by wealth. These people are not asked to learn Portuguese. In many cases, they never set foot here. They are not asked to do what others are required to, which is why it is also an affront: if you have money, you have no problem, you buy a golden visa, you don’t need to swear allegiance to the country, you don’t need to learn Portuguese, you don’t need anything. What you need is money,” he concluded.
Remember, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa referred the foreign nationals law to the Constitutional Court last Thursday, requesting “urgent preventive review of the constitutionality of the norms” regarding the right to family reunification and its conditions.
Last Saturday, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro emphasized that if the validation of constitutionality “does not happen, the world will not end, Portugal will not end, and [his] drive to regulate immigration will not end either.”
The changes approved by parliament to the “legal regime of entry, stay, exit, and removal of foreign nationals from the national territory” were sent by the President of the Republic to the Constitutional Court.
Lusa | 18:04 – 24/07/2025
