It is by train that the PCP deputies will leave for Beja this Monday, for parliamentary days that will be divided between the specific problems of the Alentejo and the situation in the country. Far from the time when the PCP had a word to say about the measures of socialist governance, the crosshairs are on the executive of António Costa, which puts the PCP next to the right. With a two-day agenda that includes labor and social rights, health or the need to support national production, the communist bank’s initiative will end with the announcement of new legislative proposals to be presented in the Assembly of the Republic.
Starting at the beginning, the train is not accidental. The railway and the lack of investment in this sector is one of the themes discussed during the parliamentary days of the PCP. “We can’t just stop at ads and words, we have to do things”, says to DN the leader of the communist group, Paula Santos – “We are talking about a means of transport that structures both for the transport of goods and for the transport of passengers, in order to promote the mobility and accessibility of the population”. On the way, the communist deputies talk with workers and users and in Beja, the program of the trips will deal with another accessibility problem, this road, with a visit to the unfinished works of the IP8″. the PCP promotes a public hearing on the theme “The neighborhood Beja has a future!”, which should also address another issue related to transport – Beja airport. The PCP has long argued that this structure deserves better use and, in the latest On Thursday approved the Assembly of the Republic passed a draft resolution of the communists in defense of the “use all the potential of the airport”, an infrastructure of “strategic importance for the country and” for the Beja region”, decisive for the “promotion of territorial cohesion”, both for the “repercussions in terms of wealth and employment it generates”, and “for its location in a geostrategic position between Lisbon and the Algarve.” What is particularly relevant, emphasizes Paula Santos, taking into account “that Faro airport is becoming overcrowded”.
Promoting national production
The second day of parliamentary days will have a special focus on the agricultural sector, both from a labor rights perspective, in particular “the labor exploitation that affects many immigrants”, and from a national production perspective, which the PCP says is well below the possible location. “We will meet with growers to discuss the issue of support for the productive sectors, especially in agriculture,” emphasizes Paula Santos. “The PCP has put a lot on the table about the need to stop speculative increases, to restore purchasing power, but also aspects that will be present in the travels, such as the national production should be promoted. We have countless opportunities that can and should be put at the service of the country.” refers to the communist parliamentary leader, who defends that food production in the country is “deeply inadequate” – “We have the capacity for more: grains are an example of this reality”.
An issue that inevitably leads to another theme that is guaranteed to be present at the Parliamentary Days of the PCP. After weeks marked by successive controversies in government, Paula Santos says she is not devaluing the things that have been made public, but underlines the “context of deteriorating living conditions for workers and the people”. “Wages and pensions have suffered a real loss, there is no recovery in purchasing power, on the contrary. what will continue in 2023 with the decisions made by the government is the loss of purchasing power, pushing workers and pensioners towards impoverishment”criticizes the PCP deputy, stating that there is “a clear need for control and price fixing. essential commodities such as food, which in many cases have increased significantly, with increases of 15%, 20%,” argues Paula Santos, pointing out adding that “this is a reality that demands a response”. What we have seen is the refusal of the government, but also of its right-wing parties, the PSD, the Liberal Initiative and Chega”.
The journeys of the PCP faction – currently with six deputies – will begin this Monday with an intervention by the party’s general secretary, Paulo Raimundo. The same is to say that it will be the first time in the last 19 years that the communists’ parliamentary assembly will not have the protagonist Jerónimo de Sousa, who left the leadership last November. Does anything change? Apparently not: “The general secretary will be present”.
Source: DN
