“If the Public Prosecutor decided, it’s because it considers it important,” stated Luis Marques Mendes following the announcement by the Attorney General’s Office regarding the inquiry into the Chega party’s posters about Bangladesh and the Roma community.
However, for the presidential candidate, this issue is “more political than legal,” and should be resolved “at the ballot box” rather than “through court proceedings”.
Although describing the posters as “regrettable, provocative, inhumane, racist, even xenophobic,” Luis Marques Mendes argued that “the fight against such actions should be political” and emphasized “freedom of expression should not be restricted”.
“Democracy is the regime of tolerance, even towards behaviors that are normally reprehensible,” he asserted, when asked whether the Chega party should be forced to remove the posters.
“I believe Chega should be fought politically, and those who resort to the courts are only doing Chega a favor because it then poses as a victim,” he said, adding that “until people understand this, everything will be more difficult”.
Luis Marques Mendes made it clear that despite “unacceptable behaviors,” Chega should not be banned, as “there’s a difference between its leadership and its voters,” the latter being “disenchanted Portuguese” whose issues must be addressed.
The investigation into the posters, according to Marques Mendes, is “doing Chega a favor,” with André Ventura “rubbing his hands with delight” over the “tremendous publicity and visibility”.
During a visit today to the Agrupamento de Escolas Joaquim Inácio da Cruz Sobral in Sobral de Monte Agraço, Lisbon district, Luis Marques Mendes once again emphasized the need for social dialogue and criticized the Government for paying “little attention to the UGT”.
The candidate, who met with UGT on Monday, stated that “employers recognize that it’s better to change the law with an agreement than without one,” as “an agreement risks being a temporary law, and without one, the law can be changed at any time”.
The Government “should pay more attention to the UGT, negotiate more with the UGT, and be more sensitive to issues raised by the UGT,” which “is not just any union,” he noted, recalling that this union “has made several social agreements in the past,” whereas “CGTP has made none”.
Attributing to UGT “a great sense of responsibility,” Marques Mendes advocates that it “deserves to be treated with more attention, respect, openness, and balance from the Government,” advising the executive under Luis Montenegro to “correct this quickly”.
In his statements to the press, Marques Mendes also referred to the 50th anniversary of Angola’s independence, describing it as “an important milestone” for the territory that “faces economic and social difficulties but is a great country, a great people,” with which Portugal should “strengthen relations, be it economically, socially, or culturally”.
On the issue of immigration, he advocated for “more attention to be given to immigrants from Portuguese-speaking African countries, like Angola, because they speak Portuguese and integration is much easier,” concluded the candidate.
