Katarina Martins says anti-inflation measures are being taken ‘too late’

Bloco de Esquerda (BE) coordinator Katharina Martins felt this Saturday that the inflation easing measures announced by the government are coming “too late” when people are “already desperate” and wished they were for everyone.

“We learned a few things. First, we have always had the budgetary capacity to do much more for wages and family support in Portugal, and the government didn’t do more because it didn’t want to. That’s why we have more people in a situation more vulnerable than we had. We have three million people in a vulnerable position,” Katarina Martins stressed.

The BE coordinator also added that the executive, led by António Costa, “for refusing to act for so long” meant that “even those workers who are told by the government that they will eventually give a small increase in wages” have already lost a month’s salary. due to current inflation.

“In other words, the government comes late, very late, when people are very desperate,” said Katarina Martins, speaking to reporters at the Mercado dos Lavradores in Funchal as part of a political initiative in which the head of government took part. BE list for the next regional elections, Roberto Almada.

The host of the blockbuster noted that “there are people who, having a very difficult life, completely left out of the support that is now being announced.”

“What needs to be done is to raise wages, yes, but raise wages in line with inflation so that people don’t continue to lose purchasing power. And not just for some, it takes politics to get these wage and pension increases,” he defended.

“Pensioners have been completely forgotten in all this and are losing a lot,” he stressed.

Katarina Martins also stressed that it is necessary to control the prices of essential goods.

“The government is very hopeful that reducing VAT on a package of products that we still do not know about will solve the problem, but as the government itself recently admitted, reducing VAT without price controls makes a large allocation can include this in prices, that is, we we force taxpayers to give more profits to a large distribution, and a large distribution brings in millions, ”he argued.

Asked about the next regional legislative elections, which have not yet been scheduled by the President of the Republic, but which will take place between September and October, the Bloc coordinator noted that “the Legislative Assembly of Madeira is very short of BE” and praised the work done by the party in the region.