During the general debate on the State Budget for 2026 in the Assembly of the Republic, Paulo Raimundo, the General Secretary of the PCP, questioned the Prime Minister about the widely touted “economic miracle” promised by the government leader, asserting that lowering corporate income tax would lead to increased wages.
“As reality has always shown, lowering taxes on profits means nothing for wages and practically nothing for the tough lives of small entrepreneurs who struggle to sustain their businesses,” the communist leader asserted.
In response, Luís Montenegro expressed uncertainty about what a “economic miracle for the PCP” signifies, adding that for the government, it means people have more income at the end of the month, more opportunities, and better access to public services.
“Last year, in 2024, this is an objective fact, Portugal was the country in the OECD where workers’ incomes, let me emphasize with the fervor of a communist, workers’ incomes rose the most. And it increased due to two factors: the reduction of taxes on work income and the appreciation of wages through salary increases,” he detailed.
Raimundo also argued that “anyone who clearly or covertly allows this budget” to pass “will not escape being an accomplice and a protagonist of the current policy and will sooner or later have to answer to the youth, the workers, and the populations.”
For the leader of the PCP, the “country does not need this path” and should follow another route, “a path of sovereignty that places workers at the center of its political choices.” “Everything contrary to what is currently being done,” he added.
The Prime Minister countered that, although the PCP tries to “impose on public opinion” a scenario of disaster, “nobody recognizes that this reflects the reality of the country,” adding that the PCP’s view is “unrealistic.”
“I am not among those who say everything is fine, because it’s not. I am not among those who live under the illusion that we have done everything and even the most important things, because we have neither done everything nor the most important things, but we are doing very important work,” he added.
Luís Montenegro concluded by reiterating the notion that some communist party members, looking at the government’s program, might feel tempted to vote for the parties that support the executive.
“I told you once in a debate that some communists, looking at this government’s political program and its execution, might feel tempted to vote for these parties and increasingly, I feel that is what will happen in the future,” he asserted.
