During the opening of the Festa do Avante in Quinta da Atalaia, Seixal, Paulo Raimundo emphasized the necessity of promptly clarifying the cause and circumstances behind the derailment of the Elevador da Glória on Wednesday in order to “ascertain technical and political responsibilities”.
When asked if he supports the resignation of Carlos Moedas, Paulo Raimundo responded with “the fish dies by the mouth”, referencing remarks made by the current Mayor of Lisbon in 2021 after the “Russiagate” scandal, in which Moedas called for the resignation of then-Mayor Fernando Medina, advocating for “a new type of politician who assumes responsibilities, even in the face of a technical error”.
Expressing regret that consistency is not “a prominent virtue of many today”, Paulo Raimundo nonetheless argued that “one must be consistent”.
“And that’s a question [about Carlos Moedas’s resignation] you fairly ask, which I return to Carlos Moedas, the Mayor of Lisbon: considering what he stated in past moments, and given his current responsibilities, does he believe he can continue with those responsibilities?”, he questioned.
The PCP Secretary-General also discussed the upcoming local elections on October 12, highlighting that, in these elections, Lisbon residents will have the opportunity to “express condemnation of political choices attributable not only to the PSD but also to the PS”.
When questioned about the PCP’s decision not to cancel the Festa do Avante! in light of the Elevador da Glória derailment, Paulo Raimundo stated that the communist event will address “many aspects of people’s lives”, including “infrastructure issues and the responses the state should but doesn’t provide”.
“If we wanted to be demagogues, hypocrites, then perhaps we would have acted as others did. But we are neither demagogues nor hypocrites, and efforts here are moving forward to create conditions that prevent incidents like those on Wednesday from happening again”, he remarked.
Paulo Raimundo also found it curious that, on his way to Quinta da Atalaia, he overheard “various party leaders” speaking on the radio.
“And I thought to myself: ‘weren’t they suspending all party activities?’. Well, the mystery remains”, he noted.
