BE Wants European Central Bank President to Discuss Interest Rates in Parliament

The BE Parliamentary Group has sent a letter to the President of the Assembly of the Republic requesting that the President of the European Central Bank (ECB) visit Parliament to discuss the housing situation.

The announcement was made this afternoon in Coimbra by Mariana Mortagua at the first rally since being elected national coordinator of the party on housing in Portugal, in which she accused the government of subservience to the ECB, led by Christine Lagarde.

“Because if the government does not represent the Portuguese people in the ECB, why should its president come to Portugal to speak with the representatives of the people in the Assembly of the Republic to find out what it does with these people who cannot resist another increase in interest,” he stressed. He.

According to Mariana Mortagua, “the same subordination that the government has towards the ECB also has towards the banks, which benefit from all this policy and are the main beneficiaries of the increase in interest rates.”

At the first housing rally of the summer, the BE national coordinator felt that the interest rate hikes adopted by the ECB were aimed at impoverishing citizens.

The blockade MP also accused the government of not taking measures to provide housing, especially affordable housing, and leaving to the mercy of fate an entire generation “which does not have and cannot find housing.”

“We are a country of people who work, but their salary is not enough to pay rent or a bank fee,” said Mariana Mortagua.

The BE leader stressed that the government’s “advertising” package for the Mais Habitação program only serves to “distract attention from the essential”, being “a tax break package for the same real estate interests that have already made a profit.” earlier with the housing crisis.”

“And an example of these empty Mais Habitação measures is the use of two measures that mean nothing: compulsory rent and local residence,” said the BE national coordinator, emphasizing that the executive director, António Costa, never wanted to touch on these two issues and that until now for history the programs remained “systematic retreats of the PS and the government”.

“Local housing, which would be paid, because it will be half what it would be, licenses that were already redundant will remain redundant, because there is no mechanism for reducing licenses and “golden” visas that would end, not only has not ended, it will not end for everyone, because venture funds support it,” he stressed.

The bloc leader argued that 25% of all new construction should be for controlled price housing, rules for local residence with restrictions in city centers and a moratorium on all new tourist sites.

“Enough hotels, we need houses to live in,” he stressed.

Mariana Mortagua also proposed maximum caps on rents, according to a set of criteria “so that people can pay rent out of their paycheck”, combating real estate speculation, and ending tax breaks for real estate funds and non-permanent residents, “which cost the state billions euros per year in the form of tax incentives.