PCP secretary-general Paulo Raimundo said on Thursday evening that the profits of banks and major economic groups are an “insult” to the lives of the Portuguese, who are facing growing difficulties.
“We have a large majority of the population getting tighter and tighter, always waiting for the day to get paid, which never comes, and then we have the bank with 10.7 million euros in profit a day, which is an insult for the lives of everyone, who says the bank, says EDP, Galp, the major economic groups… And we have a policy that is aimed at that profit staying and going up. This can’t go on, it’s not possible,” he told Lusa.
Paulo Raimundo spoke on the sidelines of a dinner with militants, in Angra do Heroísmo, on the island of Terceira, at the start of a four-day visit to the Azores, his first as general secretary of the PCP.
In a speech after dinner, the communist leader warned of low wages, poverty and difficulties accessing housing and health care, but underlined a “brutal injustice”, comparing the salaries of the majority of Portuguese to the banking profits.
“At this hour when we were dining here, the five largest banks in Portugal, through the effort of all of us, have concentrated in their pockets about 450,000 euros a day,” he stressed, claiming that “70% of the whole workforce” in Portugal “earn up to EUR 1,000 gross salary”.
The PCP secretary general stressed that the situation of “injustice” and “inequality” is also verified when wages are compared to the profits of major economic groups.
“Although we are tight with fuel prices, with the increase in the cost of living, with the price of food, EDP had a profit of 300 million euros in the first quarter of this year and we can say that the Sonae group and the Jerónimo Martins, large holders of a significant share of the distribution, had more than 200 million in profit in the first three months of the year,” he stressed.
Asked about the Prime Minister’s reactions to the PSD about the SIS action in recovering a computer from the Ministry of Infrastructure, the communist leader reiterated that the most important thing is “to take care of people’s lives”.
“Yesterday I saw news that the PSD had asked 15 questions and given the Prime Minister a month to answer and today I realized that the Prime Minister had already answered and I thought: here is a good contribution to make this solve the problem.” and for everyone, so that we can move on to what is fundamental, people’s lives, but I am convinced that it will not be, because there will be more series on this issue,” he revealed.
During his first visit to the Azores, where the PCP lost parliamentary representation in 2020, Paulo Raimundo expressed confidence in a recovery in the next election, claiming that the party is “an active voice in solving people’s lives” .
“We are confident that we will regain that seat in parliament at the first opportunity we have, which will be in principle for next year,” he said.
As for the reasons that led to the loss of parliamentary representation, Paulo Raimundo said in 2020 that “the circumstances were very different” and that “no election is the same”.
Source: DN
