Santarém, June 12, 2025 – PSD parliamentary leader Hugo Soares today condemned a neonazi attack on theater actors, calling it “absurd” to think anyone would not clearly repudiate such violence.
“I believe it would be absurd to consider that anyone in this country does not vehemently condemn the attacks that happened at a theater’s entrance,” stated Hugo Soares, during a visit to the National Agriculture Fair (FNA) in Santarém.
The social-democratic leader refrained from predicting PSD’s voting intentions on potential parliamentary initiatives regarding the issue, simply stating that violence should always be rejected “wherever it occurs.”
During the visit to the Fair, the PSD parliamentary leader emphasized that the focus on the primary sector “has been a priority since the first day of the Government” of the Democratic Alliance (AD), asserting that agriculture should no longer be viewed as a “minor sector.”
“We increasingly want agriculture to be environmentally friendly and that is the path being forged here,” he stated, highlighting that “the sustainability of Portuguese agriculture” should be central to the national strategy.
Referring to the FNA visit on the 40th anniversary of Portugal’s accession to the European Economic Community (EEC), Hugo Soares explained that he was present to emphasize that farmers also “owe much” to the European project.
“The European Union is a peace project, but it is also a transformative project for our society and the primary sector,” he declared.
Faced with negotiations between parties for positions like the Ombudsman, Hugo Soares replied that “no political or party issue” should overshadow the message he intended to convey about the agricultural sector.
“Anything I say on the side will become the news, and I really just want to talk with you about agriculture,” he insisted, adding that it would “devalue” the theme to shift focus to other topics.
Hugo Soares also highlighted measures adopted by the Government in the previous legislative cycle, such as reintegrating agriculture into the structure of the CCDR (Commissions for Coordination and Regional Development), and promised “many legislative initiatives” in this legislature to support the sector.
Among these initiatives, he pointed to the promotion of organic production, the acceleration of support payments to farmers, and the enhancement of exports, particularly through trade agreements with countries like Brazil.
On Tuesday night, outside the “A Barraca” theater in Lisbon, a group of neonazis approached the actors with xenophobic provocations. One of the performers was assaulted and required hospital treatment.
JYRE// SF
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