The proposals for the establishment of inquiry committees on forest fires by Chega, BE, PAN, and JPP will be voted on in plenary on Tuesday, with support from Livre and the Liberal Initiative. These parties consider it essential to identify “political responsibilities” concerning fires.
During today’s plenary debate, Chega’s parliamentary leader, Pedro Pinto, along with deputies Patrícia Carvalho and Rui Paulo Sousa, questioned the PSD and PS about “what they fear” regarding the establishment of an inquiry committee aimed at determining the beneficiaries of the “fire business.”
Rui Paulo Sousa indicated that Chega wants the inquiry to focus on the period when the current PS secretary-general, José Luís Carneiro, oversaw Civil Protection as Minister of Internal Administration. He expressed surprise that the PSD might be attempting to “cover up” the accountability process.
CDS deputy João Almeida responded that the concern over fact-finding expressed by Chega was unfounded because André Ventura’s party had already announced it would unilaterally proceed with the inquiry committee on fires.
Politically, João Almeida expressed concern that this future inquiry committee imposed by Chega might be based more on “speculations” and “conspiracy theories” than on concrete facts.
PS’s André Rijo noted that much of the proposed objectives in the various motions to open inquiry committees “is already covered by the establishment of the independent technical committee, which was approved this month” by the socialist caucus initiative.
André Rijo acknowledged that later, potentially, “if justified,” the PS might consider a parliamentary inquiry committee on fires but criticized the “idea of vigilantism,” in reference to Chega. According to him, this notion undermines the work of the Judicial Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
PCP deputy Alfredo Maia also criticized the “trivialization” inherent in the proposals to open parliamentary inquiry committees, arguing that the crucial issue is reversing the current forest policies, especially in terms of land management and valuing human resources. He emphasized that the PCP fights to classify firefighting as a profession with early retirement.
The PSD, represented by deputy Amílcar Almeida, expressed harsh criticism primarily against the parties proposing parliamentary inquiry committees, stating that they aim to “turn the pain of the populations into political gain.”
“These initiatives do not seek clarity, and the failures are already identified. They wish to attack the Government. We are witnessing an instrumentalization of a tragedy for political theater,” emphasized Amílcar Almeida.
