A distant gesture of the hand was all Lula da Silva’s Brazilian community heard at the start of his official visit to Portugal. AND there are already more than 330,000 legal residents here, not counting the Portuguese. One hundred traveled to Belém to show their support for the president and, as supporters that they are, understand that a meeting with the community is not on the agenda.
“It would be good to have such a meeting, but I think it is not happening for security reasons. It has to do with the moment that Europe is going through, with the growth of the extreme right,” justifies Fábio Swartele, 56, who has been around for seven years in Portugal. In Brazil, he lived in Santos (São Paulo) and was a university professor, now he is an Uber courier. “I can’t do the same job, it’s the life of an immigrant”. Yet he does not regret emigrating. “I ran away from violence and to have a better quality of life”.
It’s part of a community that adds new members every day. In December there were 233,138 with a residence permit. They were joined by about 100 thousand who had already obtained it this year, 90% of them through the system online for Lusophone immigrants started a month ago. According to the Immigration and Borders Department, there are now more than 330 thousand. There will be many more with those who have obtained Portuguese nationality. According to data from the Ministry of Justice, an average of 50,000 new Portuguese are added each year, most of whom are Brazilian.
PT supporters
Fábio is with his daughter, Giulia, a law student. “The Brazilian community suffers from many prejudices, I want to be a voice against these situations,” he announces. This is a subject that I would like to see the President of Brazil address during his visit. Father and daughter are supporters of Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party (PT), as are most of the people who have traveled to Belém.
330 thousand Brazilians
The mini-demonstration was precisely organized by the PT core in Portugal. And Lula da Silva was welcomed with posters: “Lula for education; for minorities. No fascism, April 25, Marielle lives (the councilwoman who will be killed in 2018)”. They shouted slogans: “Lula, I just came here to see you!” Hello, Olé, Hello, Lula, Lula!” or “Lula, warrior of the Brazilian people!And so they moved between the Centro Cultural de Belém and the Palácio de Belém, to the rhythm of President Lula’s pledges. The first stop was more special, at Praça do Império, where the Brazilian president received military awards.
Amélia Sousa, 70 years old, retired and came to Portugal four years ago. He traveled from Caldas da Rainha (Leiria), hoping that Lula da Silva would approach the bars that separated him from the ceremonies. Didn’t happen. “It was difficult, but Lula is in Portugal and he realizes that we support him.”
A feeling shared by Patrícia Neves, 55 years old, Portuguese-Brazilian. She lives between Portugal and Brazil (she is married to a Portuguese man), votes in both countries, enjoys what everyone has. “I am here for Lula and for the union between the two countries. I am very happy that a president from my country is returning to Portugal”.
Pietro Milita, 18 years old, student-worker, points out to his friends the differences between Brazil’s last presidents. In four months, Lula has already visited more countries than Bolsonaro during his entire mandate. He spoke to Luan Ambrizi, 23, Julia Ruggeri, 23, Roan Salles, 23, Mateus Campos, 23, and Loren Ruggeri, 20. They all work for a company that exports limes – the most recent arrived a month ago; the oldest a year ago. They are eager for the Brazilian president to meet the community as there are issues to be resolved. “We are doing well in the field of Health, but that is no longer the case in Education. It is difficult for those who do not come from Brazil with a scholarship to enter the university here”, they illustrate. The good news is that of the 13 cooperation agreements signed yesterday, one is aimed at equalizing secondary education.
Ukraine just slightly
Lula’s supporters devalue his statements about the invasion of Ukraine. ‘President Lula defends peace, he criticized Russia’says Patricia Neves.
One person who does not forget these statements is Simão Guedes, 24 years old, working in the insurance sector. The isolated Ukrainian flag that adorns the posters supporting the Brazilian president belongs to him. “I am outraged by Lula da Silva’s support for the Russian cause, to Putin. He has criticized the EU, accusing it of inciting war with its support for Ukraine.”
Thirty minutes later, the young man was invited to leave by a PSP agent, as was a second protester with a poster against Lula, both Portuguese. The police took down the names. A source from the Metropolitan Command in Lisbon explained to DN that the action was intended “Protect your own”. And he states: “the demonstration was planned and this behavior may cause a certain kind of reaction from the protesters”.
Source: DN
