Former PKP general secretary Jeronimo de Sousa this Saturday accused the PSD, the Liberal Initiative and Chega of wanting to “distort and undermine” the Constitution and warned of threats to “democracy and the future of the country”.
“Today [este sábado]In the context of the ongoing process of revision of the constitution, the threat of new distortions and impoverishment of the constitutional text is again emerging,” he said.
The former leader of the PCP intervened in the debate on “Respect and Enforce the Constitution” that took place this Saturday evening, the second day of the Festa do Avante!. This group also included deputy Alma Rivera and former parliamentary leader João Oliveira.
“Chegoya’s discovery of the constitutional review process and the specific content of the PSD, IL and Chegi projects prove that the meaning of this process is determined by the attack on the democratic regime and fundamental rights, as well as the goal of providing constitutional coverage. to the political right wing, crippling and undermining the Constitution,” Jeronimo de Souza criticized.
The deputy voter noted that “this assessment stems not so much from the fact that it was Chega who initiated the revision process, but, first of all, from the specific content of what is proposed.”
“The options for the SDP, IL and Chega are clearly visible in the texts of the drafts they submitted, in which all together or in turn are aimed at attacking the April values, democratic freedoms and the rights won by the revolution, enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic,” Jeronimo believed.
With regard to the PS, the former general secretary of the Communist Party, who is a member of the Party Central Committee, noted that, “recognizing and highlighting the possibility of amending the Constitution as a result of this process of constitutional review”, he allows “an option with serious consequences for national life and which threaten rights of workers and the people, democracy and the future of the country”.
The communist stressed that “the path is not to distort the Constitution, but to observe it.”
Jeronimo de Souza was the general secretary of the PCP for almost 18 years, leaving his post in November for health reasons. He was replaced by Paulo Raimundo, who made his debut this year at the Festa do Avante! as a communist leader.
The 12th process of revision of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic (only seven were successfully completed) was initiated by the presentation of the Chegoy draft in October last year, followed by all colleges and individual deputies, a total of eight drafts and 393 proposals to amend, repeal and supplement the articles of the basic law.
If successfully completed, this will be the eighth edition of the Constitution, almost 20 years after the previous change (2005) and more than ten years after the last major attempt to amend it (2010/2011), which failed due to the dissolution of Parliament . .