The communist secretary-general distanced himself this Monday from clashes at Saturday’s housing rights demonstration in Lisbon, deeming them deplorable, but stressing that the protest was marked by demonstrator demands, not riots.
“We did not follow the final expression of this protest, under the conditions that you outlined here, but what signs these unfortunate incidents were not, what signs were those thousands of people who took to the streets for just reasons that they had and continue to eat,” – said.
Paulo Raimundo spoke at a press conference at the PKP’s national headquarters in Lisbon, presenting the conclusions of the party’s Central Committee meeting on Sunday.
According to Paulo Raimundo, the demonstration “Casa para Viver”, which took place on Saturday in Lisbon and in which he participated, was marked by the demands of thousands of people who took to the streets for the right to housing, not for clashes. with the police.
“Such incidents are unfortunate, we believe that they should not have happened. In fact, if they were not there, we would be talking about something else: about the content of the demonstration and about what brought people to the streets, and not about the events themselves,” he said.
Asked if he fears that frequent demonstrations involving unorganized movements could lead to new clashes and get out of the control of the trade union organization, as has already happened in France, Paulo Raimundo said that his party appreciates all the actions of the struggle “with just goals ”, regardless of who organizes it, its shape or size.
The Secretary General of the PKP stressed that “thousands or millions of people” took to the streets all over the world, who are protesting for “just cause”.
“If your will were to do what a few tens or hundreds of people end up doing, it would be chaos. Well, that doesn’t happen,” he said.
Paulo Raimundo stressed that the demonstrations that are taking place around the world “are not these riots at the end”, but rather demands for higher wages, against raising the retirement age or for peace.
“In our case, this is also the case. (…) What distinguishes this great desire to fight, to demand answers to everyone’s problems, and their fair demands,” he said.
At this press conference, Paulo Raimundo stated that “the scope and intensification of the mass struggle” had led to “countless victories and conquests, especially in terms of wage increases”, and forced the government to announce measures.
“Although limited and insufficient, it is emphasized that it was the struggle that forced the government to recognize needs that, until recently, it did not want to recognize,” he stressed.
However, Paulo Raimundo expressed regret that the announced measures “deviate from the main ones” and do not infringe on “the profits and interests of economic groups, in addition to legitimizing highly speculative prices.”
“So it is in the measures of the so-called fight against inflation, as in the so-called “More Housing” package, where measures after measures were also announced, but without receiving a single cent from the profits of banks and real estate funds, on the contrary,” he criticized.
In this context, Paulo Raimundo called for an “intensification of the struggle” immediately with a “decisive mobilization in connection with the celebration of 25 April and the day of struggle on 1 May”.
Asked if he believes that the more frequent nature of the demonstrations is also due to the new PKP leadership and its work to raise awareness among the workers, Paulo Raimundo replied that what “gets people moving” is their demands and, in particular, ” justice”. and the urgency of wage increases.
“These are fundamental reasons that force people to take to the streets and fight. (…) PKP is on the side, is it out of this process? Didn’t she contribute? , action, with its mobilization role. We are not getting out of it, but what makes people take to the streets is their fair claims,” he stressed.
On Saturday, the Casa para Viver demonstration took place in Lisbon, bringing together thousands of people to protest against rising rents and house prices.
At the end of the demonstration, the demonstrators and the police clashed in Martim Moniz Square, which resulted in the arrest of two people.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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