The submission was officially made today at the Palácio Ratton in Lisbon by Manuel João Vieira, the founder and lead singer of the band Ena Pá 2000, accompanied by actor David Almeida, the national representative of the candidacy.
Speaking to journalists outside the Constitutional Court, Manuel João Vieira revealed he submitted 12,500 signatures, exceeding the required minimum of 7,500, following a “laborious” collection process. He cited the acquisition of certain documents and “some subterfuges” as the major challenges, which he argued were intended to hinder his candidacy.
“It’s true that there’s an octopus that’s been preventing candidate Vieira from entering political life since 2001. This octopus has a head, and each tentacle has a little head with more tentacles with more little heads. But this doesn’t make any sense,” he remarked.
When asked about his expectations for the upcoming elections, the artist expressed a desire to be an “alternative to current political candidates” and reiterated a familiar promise “only to quit if elected,” maintaining a slogan from previous, yet unrealized, aspirations to run for Belém.
Regarding his campaign intentions, Manuel João Vieira stated he would advocate for a different country and would fight for “unlimited power, in a symbolic and metaphorical sense,” for the head of state, adding that the bid would act out of “love for the homeland.”
According to the candidate, Portugal “needs to leap forward and maintain speed” to reclaim its status as the nation that “once led the world in international market conquests and led piracy and the seas.”
“Portugal doesn’t make use of many things it has at its disposal. Portugal is one of the countries with one of the largest gold reserves in the world (…) that it can also harness for its service in areas like space engineering, agricultural engineering, and artificial intelligence. We’ve been suffering from inert Sebastianism for too long. At this moment, we must leap forward and continue what we were doing,” he added.
Following his statements to the press, a speech was delivered in which Manuel João Vieira highlighted his various skills, emphasizing lessons from his parents that the “President must have at least 27 personalities to understand the entire country” and that “Portugal is not an identity but a flow, sometimes turbulent, sometimes calm.”
“Portugal doesn’t need administration. Portugal needs creation. We are a people who have traversed centuries because we always believed in what doesn’t exist. Today, I ask you to believe in a president who also shouldn’t exist, but does. (…) For the future of 100,000 years, only I can, in the second round, end this foolish adventure. Long live Portugal, absurd, luminous, and absolutely necessary,” he concluded.
