“The IL here in Viseu has ample room for growth. We are not here to fight against anyone, but to carve out our own space. The proposals of IL can increasingly resonate with the people of Viseu,” stated João Antas de Barros.
The liberal leader for the Viseu electoral district was speaking to the Lusa agency regarding comments made by the head of the Democratic Alliance (AD) list, Minister António Leitão Amaro, this Sunday in Viseu during Luís Montenegro’s visit to the district.
At a rally in the Viseu Multipurpose Pavilion, Leitão Amaro chose to focus his remarks on the right-wing parties, especially Chega, while also issuing warnings about the Liberal Initiative, a party that has already admitted potential post-election understandings with the AD.
“No matter how well-intentioned they may be, we can say, for example, here in Viseu, that voting for IL is a wasted vote, it does not contribute to a greater majority. Furthermore, even on a national level, it weakens the current prime minister and the one we will continue to have in the future,” he asserted.
João Antas de Barros accused the AD of choosing a “rhetoric of devaluation of opponents” and preferring “political juggling by telling people what they should or should not do with their vote,” instead of presenting solutions and “enlightening the Portuguese with the ideas” that the AD proposes.
“It is a wonderful signal of fear of the reformist spirit that IL brings to the democratic game, and for us, it is an act of courage and freedom,” defended Antas de Barros.
The independent candidate, who after the elections might “let himself be enamored, time will tell” by IL, said he feels people are “tired of going from election to election, always with the same proposals” of a “bipolar system, always between PS and PSD.”
João Antas de Barros, 38, is the grandson of João Pedro Antas de Barros, the number one PSD militant in Viseu, which he believes “well demonstrates the democratic spirit lived within the family.”
