With whistles, carnations and cries of “fire” thousands of people, mostly teachers, gathered this Sunday at the Boavista roundabout in Porto for a protest that will greet António Costa at the Palacio de Cristal.
“This protest belongs to everyone. It came from civil society and everyone was invited. We do not represent trade unions,” Joaquim Sampaio, spokesman for Todos por Portugal, told Lusa.
The protest march, which involves professors and professionals from other sectors, will head towards the Palacio de Cristal, where PS Secretary General and Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa is expected to arrive this afternoon for an initiative integrated into the celebrations. to the 50th anniversary of the Portuguese Socialist Party.
With placards reading “Mr. President, help” or “Corruption money will solve education problems” and slogans such as “Costa listens, the school fights”, the march unites demonstrators from various sectors.
Mostly black sweaters with “Enough!” or “We are in the fight” and the scarves of Portugal, to the sound of whistles and drums, and with red carnations in their hands, the manifestos will go along Julio Dinis street to the Crystal Palace.
“Firing” and “Portugal” are the most heard words next to the truck, which initially, as Joaquim Sampaio of the organization told Lusa, was “banned by the PSP due to external pressure.”
Around 14:00, Lusa contacted the PSP Metropolitan Command in Porto, who sent clarifications for later.
The rally, publicized by a group of northern educators, “a group of teachers protesting the government” as they call themselves, aims to draw attention to the “impoverishment of the population.”
“Families are living with great financial hardship due to the rising costs of housing, food, transport, healthcare, etc. The struggles and demonstrations of teachers, doctors, nurses, court officials, farmers, train drivers and many others have shown the great discontent that Portugal is experiencing Today. The government has lost its mind and votes for the impoverishment of the Portuguese,” the appeal reads.
Lydia Faria, a 52-year-old teacher, joined the concentration for precisely these reasons.
“It will only change if people show up and scream and demand,” he told Luce.
Beside her, holding a banner with the slogan “In defense of public schools”, Beatriz Lima (45) nods and says that “Portugal needs better politicians.”
Already in a statement to the newsrooms, the Alojamento Local Porto e Norte (ALPN) movement announced on Saturday that it will join this gathering with people representing local accommodation as well as related economic activities, namely management, accounting, training companies, restaurants , bars, laundromats, local shops, cleaning crews and transportation, among others.
The aim is to draw the attention of the government, parties and the public to the +Habitação package of measures, which, they say, “if approved, will have a devastating impact not only on the activity of local housing, but also on thousands of companies in the tourism ecosystem, whose activities are closely related to this sector”.
The goal is to draw the attention of governments, parties and the public to the +Habitação package of measures, which, they say, “if approved, will have a devastating impact not only on the activities of local housing, but also on thousands of companies in the tourism ecosystem, whose activities are closely related to this sector”.
During the week, various organizers realized that they expected the presence of organizations from various sectors – economic, social, cultural, environmental – and called for the participation of civil society.
At the same time, in the presence of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, current President of the Socialist International, and President of the European Socialist Party (PSE) Stefan Löfven, former Prime Minister of Sweden, will be held this afternoon at the Cristal Palace in Porto, an initiative included in the program of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Portuguese Socialist Party.
Speakers are expected from António Costa and Manuel Alegre, as well as General Secretary of the Socialist Youth Miguel Costa Matos, President of the National Association of Socialist Mayors Isilda Gomez and President of the Porto District Federation Eduardo Vitor Rodríguez. .
The celebration includes musical performances by national artists such as GNR, Kim Barreiros and Barbara Tinoco, among others.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.