“I regret that in Portugal there are associations of people who, frankly, are always causing trouble for the justice system over matters that should not be in its realm. We live in a free country, we must know how to live in democracy. Adversaries in democracy are not defeated by imprisoning them, or by removing posters, or by silencing them; adversaries in democracy are defeated with debate, with the confrontation of ideas,” said André Ventura.
Speaking to journalists at parliament during the State Budget discussions, Ventura argued that calls to remove the posters represent “an attack on freedom of speech.”
“After all, the friends of April, the people with carnations in hand, of ‘freedom until the end’, when they don’t like the word and the expression, it’s imprisonment, removal of posters, precautionary measures,” he criticized.
On the PS leader’s call for the Public Prosecutor’s Office to intervene and impose any sanctions due to the posters, claiming they “stimulate hatred,” Ventura dramatized: “He appealed to the Public Prosecutor, but for what? Does it mean the Public Prosecutor should imprison the opposition leader? Do you think this gives a good image for the country externally, that the opposition leader is imprisoned because of his freedom of expression?”
The presidential candidate denied that the messages on the initial posters referring to his candidacy — “This is not Bangladesh” and “The Roma must obey the law” — have a racist tone.
“Those who promote racism in Portugal are the minorities to whom we have to pay everything for years and do nothing, forcing us to work for them. That’s what racism is, ask any community living next to that other community,” he retorted.
Ventura emphasized that he is the “representative of the Portuguese” and “no one else.”
“No external authority to this country has any decision-making power nor will influence any of my decisions or those of the Chega party on politics. What we say is obvious, this is not Bangladesh,” he stated.
The candidate urged his opponents to choose the path of political debate, arguing that differences in ideas derive from democracy.
“Certainly, I will be in the studio with all the presidential candidates, and they will be able to say whether they agree or not that the Roma must comply with the law, they will be able to say whether they agree or not that we are not in Bangladesh. It’s not about imprisonment, not about attack. Justice has more to do than looking at posters,” he defended, asking not to “waste Justice’s time and money with democracy.”
The presidential campaign posters of André Ventura, recently placed throughout the country, have faced significant criticism, with eight Roma associations announcing they will file a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office and are considering seeking a precautionary measure for their removal.
