PCP and BE blamed the government this Wednesday for the continued devaluation of culture due to the depletion of funds for art projects that meet the eligibility criteria for support.
On the same day that Évora was chosen as European Capital of Culture for 2027, PCP and Bloco used their political statements in Parliament to decide on the exclusion of more than 100 cultural projects from the 2023/2026 ongoing support for the arts competition.
“They were excluded not because they did not meet the criteria set in the tenders. They were excluded due to lack of budget allocations. That is, despite the fact that the nominations were positively assessed and considered acceptable, they are not a type of support that indicates the lack of funds allocated to support the arts, ”said Paula Santos, leader of the communist parliament.
The government, the deputy continued, could solve the issue by increasing funds, but did not decide, which indicates a “deep cultural devaluation of the government.”
The exclusion of more than a hundred cultural projects “could have been avoided if the proposals put forward by the PKP in the State Budget for 2023 had been approved”, namely the amount of 86 million euros to support the arts.
This did not happen, as the proposed amendment to the budget law was defeated “once again by the PS, accompanied by the PS, IL and Chega”. And, according to Paula Santos, these four parties “are responsible for the insufficient budget to support the arts.”
Regarding the PSD, Carla Madureira said there was “widespread dissatisfaction” with the way culture is maintained, but criticized the PCP for supporting “this funding model” during the years of the “cunning invention”: “It’s not necessary just to see the amounts available [no concurso]🇧🇷 Only now they understand it [pelos problemas na cultura]🇧🇷
Rita Mathias of Chega found it “very beautiful” that PCP spoke of “supporting arts and culture when she helped PS six times by approving budgets that punished culture the most”.
PS’s Maria João Castro denied the allegations made by Paula Santos and cited that the government or Minister of Culture Pedro Adão y Silva could not interfere with independent competitions “in the face of individual cases of entities that had no support.”
The parliamentary leader of the PKP responded that it was not “one, two or three”, but “more than 100” arts organizations.
From the Bloc, Joan Mortagua accused Pedro Adão and Silva of underestimating the “multitude and diversity” of culture in the country and, like the PKP, criticized the exclusion of projects “for the sole reason that the budget” of the competition was exhausted. .
“Recently, I heard someone get angry: “Whose soul is it that Maria do Seu Guerra still has to pass the competition?” he added.
In a request for clarification, Social Democrat Ruy Vilar said that the decline in investment in culture is the fault of “BE and the left” for supporting policies “which they now consider wrong” and are now “awakened from their long hibernation”.
In response, Joana Mortagua replied that at least now there is a “bad minister” and that it is “better than having no minister at all”.
“This is what happened in the last SDP government, there was not even a minister that we could call bad. Now, at least, there is a minister, a bad minister,” added the deputy blockist, rejecting the involvement of the BS in the policy pursued by the PS in this area.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.