After a walk through the streets of Évora, Paulo Raimundo took to the stage at the Teatro Garcia Resende for his inaugural campaign speech, directing his criticism at military investments and war.
“From here we say, once again, clearly, zero cents for their war. All the money, all the efforts should be directed towards health, housing, childcare, salaries, and pensions, and zero cents for this war strategy of that reactionary Trump,” he declared.
Without mentioning Vladimir Putin, Raimundo also criticized the European Union, accusing it of “yielding like a lamb” to the American President’s strategy.
“The country doesn’t need to increase 1.5% of GDP for war and armament. The country needs 1% of GDP for housing. This is the problem faced by the youth, this is the problem faced by our people,” he emphasized.
Raimundo further stated that if all those who invested “their time and efforts” and their money “in the madness of war” had instead devoted it all to demanding peace, it would have been better for “the people of Ukraine, better for the Russian people, and better for all peoples involved in all conflicts.”
At the beginning of his address to over 200 people in attendance, Raimundo recalled that today marks the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany (celebrated today in Russia, while in Europe it is observed a day earlier).
Using this example, Raimundo suggested that history shows how a confrontational policy always results in “horrors” for people, and that this path “never guaranteed peace.”
In a speech lasting less than 20 minutes, the PCP’s Secretary-General, besides addressing the war in Ukraine, also referred to the conflicts in Yemen, Sudan, and between India and Pakistan, warning of the consequences of conflicts in a nuclear era, which he described as “a war without return.”
