“The Government has accustomed us to two main approaches. One is propaganda […] and then it has another solution which is, for each problem, it finds always a business opportunity,” accused Paulo Raimundo.
The secretary-general of the PCP spoke to journalists on the sidelines of a visit to Nespereira, in the municipality of Cinfães, district of Viseu, to speak with those affected by the fires.
In response to a question about the agreement signed today between the Government and the European Investment Bank (EIB), which provides for a credit line to support the construction and renovation of 12,000 homes, Paulo Raimundo criticized the government’s housing policies.
The communist leader stated that what the Government did was “give credit to the banks so that the banks grant credit to the people,” emphasizing that the banks “make five million euros in profit per day” and that “a large part of those profits comes from credit.”
“We won’t get anywhere this way! What the government did was a formal act of loan contracting and that’s it. It makes a pomp and circumstance out of it. The banks are grateful, those who access cheaper credit sell it to us at the usual price. We continue to pay excessively high rents and installments and commissions for everything,” he reacted.
With this, “the drama remains, the rent prices remain sky-high and the government apparently wants them to increase even more.”
Raimundo argued that the State “should take its assets and maximize their profitability,” citing the example of the former Ministry of Education building on Avenida 05 de Outubro, in Lisbon.
“The ministry left there, and the building was to be transformed into a university residence, for hundreds of students who need it so much. And it could be in any other city. It has an approved project and now, on this sales list, this building is on the Government’s list. Does this make sense to anyone?” he questioned.
In this sense, he argued that “this government turns every problem into a business opportunity.”
“And it’s not for me, nor for you. It’s a business for the big interests, and that’s an example of it,” he accused.
IYN // SF
Lusa/End
