In a speech at the presentation ceremony of the magazine “O Jovem Socialista”, by the Juventude Socialista (JS), which took place at the Lisbon Book Fair, João Torres wanted to convey “two fundamental messages” of alertness and vigilance to PS militants.
“First of all, we cannot be naive: what we are witnessing – not just in Portugal, but all over the world – is a very targeted, very targeted, very impassioned attack on the PS, on its image, on its legacy. its governance in terms that, in my opinion, are neither appropriate nor acceptable in a democracy,” he reflected.
For the General Secretary of the PS, there has been “a rhetorical crescendo” in recent months in the use “of a certain kind of language that is not healthy in a democracy”, citing in particular the statements of the leader of the PSD, Luís Montenegro, who believed that “the biggest problem in Portuguese politics is socialism”.
“This strategy is not harmless and it is not a strategy that we should consider as poorly developed or not advanced. This has already happened in several Member States of the European Union, it has already happened in Brazil,” he warned.
For João Torres, “this idea of building a story and spreading that story”, whether it’s about a party’s history or its present, is something that “should concern” the socialists.
“It is part of a more or less supposed coalition between forces of the international and democratic right and forces of the extreme right that are in fact fighting for a goal that is (…) outside the normal range of political criticism, political disagreements , political conflicts, to really and effectively give the PS a bad name,” he stressed.
In addition to this warning, the deputy secretary general of the PS also warned of a deglobalization transition taking place, which is “largely due to the current geopolitical context”, referring in particular to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
João Torres noted that “this is a transition that requires a lot of attention” and underlined that “compared to 20 years ago”, more than 70% of the world’s population currently lives in autocracy.
“For a while it was thought that the economic model of the lowest price, while at the same time opening markets in the most profound way on a global scale, would spread the virtues of democracy through the same countries. (…) This tendency to globalization is increasing today off,” he said.
The Secretary General of the JS gave the example of the European Union’s concept of “extended strategic autonomy” and the United States of America’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which he considered inconsistent with “this idea of open, free trade”.
“I draw attention to this reality because it will lead to a profound transition. This idea that markets will close more in the short, medium term will lead to new geopolitical tensions,” he stressed.
In this context, João Torres believed that it will be necessary to defend “the values of democracy”, emphasizing that he counts on young socialists to do so.
Source: DN
