PCP considers that the law on foreigners is unconstitutional and unnecessary

Speaking to journalists after an audience yesterday with the President of the Republic at Belém Palace, who asked to speak about a country "held in place by wire" , Paulo Raimundo considered that the law that changes the legal regime for the entry and stay of foreigners was made "in a hurry" and with "formal oversights".

"There are contents that we consider can and certainly will be unconstitutional and this is an aspect that [the President of the Republic] cannot fail to take into account in the assessment" he makes, stated Paulo Raimundo.

When asked whether he supported sending this law to the Constitutional Court, the general secretary of the Portuguese Communist Party responded: "What I was arguing was that there was no need to rush this law."

"For now, there was no need for this law. Afterwards, there was no need for this whole rush , pardon the expression. Then, if, in our opinion, it has signs of unconstitutionality, naturally in line with that, what we believe is that it will have to be evaluated from a constitutional standpoint," he said.

Paulo Raimundo also said that, on this matter, he is not "turning his back" to the President of the Republic, "on the contrary", although he stressed that he does not want to "be impolite" and reveal what Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa intends to do.

Regarding the reasons for requesting the hearing, the PCP's general secretary considered that there are "a set of problems that need to be resolved and addressed" in the country in health, housing, the "difficult life" and the "increase in the cost of living."

"We are facing a government that not only fails to address these problems, but also prioritizes addressing other issues," he said, emphasizing that it is in this context that the privatization of TAP, the reduction of corporate income tax, and the law on foreigners and nationality fit in.

Paulo Raimundo also addressed the extraordinary supplement for pensioners announced by the government, considering that the "one-off support" can be "very useful for those who receive it at that time," but "the bills are due every month; it's not once a year that you have to pay the bills."

"That's what needs to be resolved, we need to resolve the lack of professionals in the National Health Service ( SNS ), we need to resolve access to housing and guarantee this constitutional right," he argued.

For Paulo Raimundo, the "government is backwards", "at the service of economic groups" and "disconnected from reality".

"We have a government that lives in a bubble, wrapped up in its own propaganda and illusions, far removed from people's lives, from the difficulties of people's lives," he accused.