Presidential candidate Catarina Martins said this Sunday, December 14, that she hopes that, regardless of the Constitutional Court’s decision, which should be announced this Monday, the nationality law will never be enacted, considering it contrary to Portugal’s values.
“Regardless of what the Constitutional Court says, I think this law can never be enacted. It can never be enacted because of what I said: we are not that country. We are not the country in which a child is born and lives here, goes through the entire first cycle and never has the right to nationality. But what is this?”, asked Catarina Martins.
The presidential candidate, supported by the Left Bloc, was speaking during a visit to the Oeiras market, in the Lisbon district, and was answering a question about what she expects from the Constitutional Court’s (TC) decision on the nationality law, which is expected to be announced this Monday.
Catarina Martins said she is awaiting the TC’s decision, which “will say what it thinks”, but considered that the nationality law, “as it stands, offends” what Portugal is.
“How do we explain that a child can reach the age of nine, not know any other country, have done all of his schooling here and not have access to Portuguese nationality? Portugal is not that”he defended.
For Catarina Martins, “Portugal is a country that vibrates with a team in which there are children from Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea, from so many places”.
“We are that. (…) I don’t know what TC will decide, but I am sure that the majority of the Portuguese population does not agree with this law, if they understand what is at stake. Because we are a country that has always respected children, that has always respected people”, he maintained, arguing that “a President of the Republic is needed who knows how to call the Government to reason”.
The presidential candidate also criticized the Government’s timing regarding the nationality law, accusing it of having created it “at the same time as it presented the State Budget” to see if it “diverted attention from its irresponsibility” and if salaries and pensions were not discussed.
Asked about André Ventura’s position on the Government’s labor package, Catarina Martins considered that the Chega leader’s change of position “is the greatest proof that the general strike was a huge success, because they were afraid to say what they think, which is that they don’t want to know about the workers”.
“They realized that they had to change their speech because it was unpopular”, he stated, highlighting that the strike made it clear that there is an “overwhelming majority of the population” that does not accept “that young people work in precarious jobs all their lives” or that “a person can be fired to be replaced by some ‘outsourcing’”.
“I think the Government has to back down because it is obvious that in Portugal there is no majority for that labor law that will lower wages and rights for everyone and all generations”, he said.
After, in the last few hours, several presidential candidates accused each other of a lack of transparency regarding labor legislation, Catarina Martins considered that, on her part, there is no lack of clarity.
“The Government’s proposal, as it stands, does not pass with me. It will go to the TC, will have a political veto and will have strong opposition every day”, he assured.
In her statements to journalists, Catarina Martins was also asked about the call for a useful vote, made by her opponent António José Seguro in an interview with TSF, who warned that “democracy is under attack”.
Catarina Martins questioned whether one defends democracy by asking to vote for oneself or “having clear positions that really defend democracy”.
Asked if there is no possibility of a second round with two right-wing candidates, Catarina Martins replied: “There is the possibility of a second round with a President of the Republic for the first time. Are we going to work for that?”