“We must view this problem not through a political or ideological fight. We need to work together to safeguard the lives of Lisbon’s residents and ensure the society doesn’t fall into this friction, which is terrible for democracy. Democracy urgently needs us united in this struggle today,” stated the mayor, Carlos Moedas (PSD), during the meeting of Lisbon’s Municipal Assembly (AML).
The PSD mayor spoke during the presentation of the city’s work over the past two months, April and May, taking the opportunity to reflect on the 2021-2025 term, highlighting the engagement of citizens in decision-making about the city’s future, including the Citizen’s Council.
Carlos Moedas believes the distancing between politicians and people has led to the rise of extremism.
Among the topics highlighted by the mayor was the issue of safety, which was also addressed by the majority of AML deputies, including the condemnation of the attack on the theater company A Barraca, particularly actor Adérito Lopes, by a far-right group at the Cinearte Theater in Lisbon on the night of June 10 – Portugal Day, Camões Day, and Portuguese Communities Day.
Besides condemning “the violent assault on an actor by extremists driven purely by ideological hatred,” Carlos Moedas lamented other incidents of insecurity and violence in the city in recent months, including the rape of “three young women in the Martim Moniz area” and a person being stabbed on Rua do Benformoso.
“Lisbon cannot be like this,” the social democrat emphasized, noting that the mayor “is not responsible for the city’s security” and reiterated the urgent request for a meeting with the Interior Minister, emphasizing the need for more police forces provided by the Government.
Highlighting the installation of video surveillance cameras throughout the city, Carlos Moedas expressed readiness to work with the PSP to “deploy mobile cameras to ensure security,” especially in Martim Moniz: “Because we cannot allow these city areas to become real time bombs.”
The Chega municipal group linked “massive and uncontrolled immigration” with increasing crime, criticizing the PSD mayor for “hypocritically” complaining now when he previously had “a careless speech” in support of multiculturalism.
PAN criticized the social democrat’s “lack of seriousness” on security discourse, accusing it of being “vote hunting during election times,” while “hate speech rises, fear takes root, and hope fades.”
Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition) lamented Carlos Moedas equating far-right violence with “alleged extremisms on the left, of which there is no record,” accusing him of contributing “to the normalization of hate crimes, adopting the same discourse as, for example, André Ventura [Chega’s president].”
The Livre party considered hate attacks to be “the result of normalizing hate speech, degrading public debate, and Chega’s legitimization of violence and its perpetrators,” highlighting the role of democratic parties in “imitating the far-right’s agenda and discourse.”
Additionally, the BE rejected the comparison between far-right and far-left, questioning Carlos Moedas on actions to prevent far-right criminal groups from infiltrating the Municipal Police.
IL condemned all hate attacks “from the far-right or far-left,” recalling a demonstration, including BE participation, with posters saying “death to landlords,” a situation also highlighted by Aliança deputy.
CDS-PP chose to criticize the PS for now advocating more security for Lisbon, when months ago, the party “was accusing PSP of police violence in Martim Moniz and participating in the protest against the police due to the Benformoso operation.”
Without responding to the criticisms, PS expressed concern over “rapes, assaults, and hate crimes,” regretting the lack of information from the PSD mayor on rapes in nightlife areas, “which are recurring,” and supporting that video surveillance and night guards are essential.
