The Secretary-General of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) criticized what he called a “strange unity” among opposition parties in Benavente aimed at “attacking the CDU,” in reference to a controversy concerning the alleged construction of a mosque.
“We cannot help but note some strangeness—or maybe not, perhaps not—at the strange unity that formed among forces that appear, or are presented, as opposed to one another… But, wow, when it’s about attacking the collective work of the CDU, they all gather around to attack,” commented Paulo Raimundo during a rally in Samora Correia, within the municipality of Benavente.
The Secretary-General referred to the controversy surrounding the alleged construction of a mosque on a plot in Samora Correia, a project which the CDU-managed municipal council claims never to have received.
In June, the Socialist Party (PS) councilor Pedro Gameiro, who is now running for mayor, participated in a demonstration against the alleged mosque construction alongside local leaders from PSD, CDS-PP, and Chega, according to the regional newspaper Mirante.
In his speech, Paulo Raimundo expressed confidence that the people of Samora Correia “at the right time, as they always have done, will be able to distinguish between demagogy and lies, and between truth and work.”
“We know well what they wanted. We know they would like there to be different management here, not in service to all, but to serve a few. We know they would like the Benavente City Council to relinquish its mobilizing role, its demand for the government and governments to fulfill their role,” he emphasized.
