The CDU officially opened its campaign for the legislative elections on March 10 this Sunday, insisting on a 15% increase in workers’ wages, at a rally in Porto, where it also denounced the excessive profits of large companies.
About a thousand people watched this in the hall of the historical Rivoli Theater. PCP general secretary Paulo Raimundo stressed that the communists are not giving up on what he considers “the main and most urgent demand,” namely “a general increase and a significant increase in salaries,” to the applause of activists and the waving of many flags.
“Wealth has been created. The workers have already created more than enough funds and resources to be able to receive a 15% increase, a minimum of 150 euros per worker. Don’t get us caught up in the false question of whether it’s real or not. Maybe; this is not only possible, but also necessary and fundamental to the country’s own development,” he said.
In his speech, which was preceded by speeches by about a dozen CDU candidates from the Porto district, including the head of the list, Alfredo Maia, and a concert by musician Jorge Lomba, which heightened the atmosphere of the rally, Paulo Raimundo also confirmed that “it is not normal when a handful of privileged people lay down every day 25 million euros of profit into your pocket.”
“At the CDU we are clear: selling the country to foreign capital is a political and economic crime against our development, which benefits a small handful of people and harms the vast majority of those who live and work here,” he noted, adding that “Best of all you can live in Portugal.
Applause and shouts of support for the CDU gave the PKP secretary general a pause to drink more water and reinforce proposals for increasing wages, recalling that “now no one dares to say that wages are high,” in addition to raising pensions and reform by 7.5%.
Speaking about the need for greater financial investment in public services, namely the National Health Service, public schools or housing, Paulo Raimundo also protested against the promiscuity between economic power and political power, pointing to this situation as the main root of corruption. .
“Stop the laxity of economic and political power and you will see corruption decrease,” he said.
The head of the CDU list in Porto, journalist Alfredo Maia, who is responsible for maintaining the communist deputy elected in this constituency in 2022, guaranteed the party’s “confidence and determination” in the elections and pointed to criticism of mobility and the economy from the Porto region, advocating abolition the privatization of Efacec or the restoration of the Matosinhos oil refinery.
“The CDU is, in fact, the only force that guarantees answers to specific problems and is committed to the development of the region,” he said, ending with a call to mobilize the electorate: “Our commitment must be redoubled. We will never let the workers and people down.”