At a public session in Jardim Arco do Cego, Lisbon, for the presentation of CDU municipal candidates, Paulo Raimundo criticized PSD, CDS, Chega, PS, and IL as a “quintet of regression and contrary politics to what is necessary.”
Referring to the meetings the Government held Wednesday and Thursday with Chega, PS, and IL regarding immigration and nationality law proposals, the PCP secretary-general stated that this quintet “keeps meeting and aligning with each other.”
“They apparently clash with each other, but when the ‘hour H’ arrives, they will be in perfect harmony, as seen in the motion of rejection the PCP presented in the Assembly of the Republic,” which was rejected with the opposing votes of PSD, CDS, Chega, PS, IL, and JPP, he said.
The PCP secretary-general noted that when the majority needs “salary increases and more rights,” this quintet proposes “more precariousness, as if it were not enough,” and “more working hours.”
“This quintet is committed to policies pushing thousands out of the country, especially the younger ones. They want Portugal to become a vocational school that trains highly qualified professionals (…) only to export them afterward,” he mentioned.
The PCP secretary-general emphasized that the country is running out of workforce, a problem only mitigated by immigrants coming to Portugal “searching for a better life,” who “under the guise of controlled immigration, are increasingly pressured in their lives.”
Here, Paulo Raimundo indirectly criticized Chega without naming it, for advocating the so-called replacement theory.
“Those reactionaries go on about the danger of cultural replacement. What’s actually happening, what’s being pushed, is not cultural replacement but workforce replacement with even more exploited labor to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few,” he argued.
Prior to Paulo Raimundo, João Ferreira, CDU’s candidate for the Municipality of Lisbon, stated that candidates from the coalition, including PCP and the Ecologist Party “The Greens” (PEV), would be “representatives of the people of Lisbon, not notaries of speculative or real estate interests.”
Stressing that CDU candidates will fight “unregulated tourism” and pollution in the city and advocate for public space and better public transportation, João Ferreira criticized recent municipal executives.
“After four years of PSD/CDS management, following fourteen years of PS rule, it would be tragic if Lisbon residents were pushed to choose solely between these two options,” he said.
For João Ferreira, it is due to such “false dichotomies” that space is given “to those manipulating the rightful discontent and frustration of the people,” alluding to Chega.
“Know that, through us, they shall not pass,” he promised.
During the public session, it was announced that the CDU’s campaign manager for the Municipality of Lisbon will be former TV presenter Francisco Lucas Mendes, who expressed it was an honor to assume this role at a time when, he believes, Lisbon “needs more help than ever.”
“The city needs help to become a place for those who live and work there, not a luxury product serving speculative interests,” he claimed.
