“Whenever there are elections in Portugal, the PSD wants to discuss immigration laws. They do not want to discuss health, which is in chaos, nor housing, where the announced measures are an insult to the Portuguese,” stated Fabian Figueiredo in Torres Novas, Santarém district.
At the start of the party’s municipal tour, alongside the candidate for the presidency of the Torres Novas City Council, former deputy Helena Pinto, Fabian Figueiredo reiterated the defense of a migration policy “that ensures people enter regularly, are welcomed and integrated.”
PSD and CDS today guaranteed approval in general, special, and final global terms of their amendments to the foreign nationals law decree — a diploma originating from the Government but rejected by the Constitutional Court last August.
The guarantee of endorsement was given by Chega party deputy Cristina Rodrigues, who considered the final text of the foreign nationals law “sufficient,” with the amendments proposed by PSD/CDS, but warned that her party wants to go further in immigration matters.
Fabian Figueiredo accused PSD and Chega of having united in the past to approve “a cruel foreign nationals law, rejected by the Constitutional Court because it violated the most basic human rights,” arguing that “family reunification is essential.”
Figueiredo emphasized that the diploma “promoted family separation, an absurd cruelty that could only be rejected in any democratic country,” and that instead of combating irregular immigration, “it ended up encouraging it.”
According to the BE leader, the Government conceded “to the populist agenda of the far-right,” changing its stance on family reunification “not because reality has changed, but for electoral convenience.”
“Today, in the Assembly of the Republic, the Bloco will once again show the country what migration policy should be developed: ensuring regular entries, welcoming, and integrating, with family reunification as a central piece,” he declared.
The Bloco de Esquerda began today in Torres Novas, the national municipal tour, marking the official start of the campaign for the October 12 elections.
Fabian Figueiredo highlighted Torres Novas as the starting point, praising candidate Helena Pinto as “one of the most prepared” and emphasizing that her candidacy represents “a wave of change and hope.”
Nationally, the leader stressed that the party presents “dozens of strong candidacies, many with independents,” aiming to build “a supportive and progressive alternative” to the right and address central problems such as housing, transport, and health.
Helena Pinto, BE’s candidate for Torres Novas City Council, stated that the national tour’s start in the municipality is a “sign of the party’s commitment” in the municipal elections.
Expressing considerable confidence, the candidate highlighted several proposals to address local issues, such as creating a public daycare, strengthening scholarships up to master’s level to retain young people in the municipality, and housing solutions, in which she accused the PS of failing.
From Thursday, BE leader Marisa Matias will replace the national coordinator and sole party deputy in the municipal election campaign until Mariana Mortágua returns from the international flotilla’s journey to Gaza with humanitarian aid.
The campaign for the municipal elections on October 12, which officially began today, ends on October 10, the day the State Budget proposal for 2026 is submitted.
