Paulo Raimundo argues that 1% of GDP should be allocated to culture

The PKP secretary general said this Wednesday that culture “continues to be forgotten, devalued and under threat,” criticizing its “chronic underfunding” and said that 1% of GDP should be allocated to the sector.

“Culture continues to be forgotten and devalued: so many worthy and unsupported cultural structures, so many cultural workers suffer from low wages, instability and unregulated working hours,” criticized Paulo Raimundo in a session reminiscent of the centenary of the writer Urbano Tavares Rodriguez, who took place today in Lisbon.

The leader of the PKP said that “no budgetary maneuver, even if supported by a large-scale propaganda operation, can erase reality,” emphasizing that this reality is “well expressed in the chronic underfunding of culture.”

“We are not satisfied with this situation. We, like representatives of culture, strive to change the path, change the policy regarding cultural production and entertainment,” he assured.

Addressing the call for early legislative elections, Paulo Raimundo said that now “is the moment to act, to affirm and strengthen the PKP and the HDZ,” and added that March 10 next year “is the opportunity to make changes.”

“They can take polls, they can try to draw the boundaries of this or that, they can build whatever scenarios they want, that the only real line in everyday life is the one that divides those who defend the interests of economic groups (…) and those who defend the alternative to raising wages,” he said.

The real line, continues Paulo Raimundo, is also one that “divides those who treat culture as something secondary, who rely on its commodification, who condemn the disappearance of cultural structures and projects, and the alternative with the goal of 1% of gross domestic income.” Product (GDP) for culture in the near future and which is protected by a public cultural service.”

“The fundamental line that exists every day is the line that separates the correct assessments of the few from the uncertainty of each day in the lives of the many. (…) Let’s take advantage of this opportunity by strengthening the CDU with more votes, the higher the percentage, the more elected,” he emphasized.

Speaking to an audience that included figures such as the musician Vitorino Salomé or the poet José Jorge Letria, Paulo Raimundo discussed the career of Urbano Tavares Rodrigues, calling him “an inescapable figure in Portuguese literature in all fields of writing.”

Among the various lessons he believes should be learned from the journey of the writer and former PCP activist, Paulo Raimundo highlighted his “militant struggle for peace, which represents an example of deep and serious relevance today.”

For the communist leader, the current moment, with “the escalation of armaments and the real risk of large-scale conflict, with all the dangers and events that may follow from this, is the right time to remember the actions, the example and the fight for peace led by Urbano Tavares Rodriguez.”

The Secretary General of the PCP said that today, as when Urbano Tavares Rodriguez joined the World Peace Council in 1971, “the people need peace, not war,” referring in particular to the situation in Palestine.

“We take this opportunity to send strong, warm and heartfelt greetings (…) to the heroic people of Palestine, calling on the government to recognize the Palestinian state once and for all and to base its actions on respect for the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic for the implementation of United Nations resolutions advocating a permanent ceasefire and an end to the war,” he said, drawing applause from the audience.