The leader of the Liberal Initiative, Mariana Leitão, criticized this Thursday, October 9, the Government’s proposal for the State Budget for 2026 (OE2026). For the liberal, the document is “not ambitious” for the Portuguese, being “a greedy budget for the State”.
Speaking in Ponte de Lima after visiting a company in the Minho municipality, Mariana Leitão noted that “the cost of living continues to increase” and that, for example, “people are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet at the end of the month” or that “young people are unable to leave their parents’ house because they are unable to buy a house”. “This Budget does not respond to that.”
The IL deputy also indicated “three essential areas” in which she considers the OE2026 to be insufficient. “First of all, housing, in which several packages of measures have already been presented that are not reflected here. When will they be included?”, he asked. Furthermore, “there continue to be numerous problems in health, education, mobility and spending increases without the Portuguese feeling that public services are being valued”.
And also in terms of “labor taxes” the OE2026 continues to “have a high tax burden”. “Even the very small reductions that are being made never include the middle class, which is the great engine of this country.”
“It was important that the Budget responded to these realities”, considered the president of IL.
Asked about what proposals the party will present, Mariana Leitão promised “several”, especially “in the field of taxation”.
According to the liberal, the party will “continue to present the proposals it has to present” and that “the country needs, that the Portuguese need”. “This budget puts the State first instead of putting the Portuguese”, criticized Mariana Leitão, promising that the measures will always be in favor of the people.
Taking this into consideration, the leader does not commit to a vote: “More important than that is to clearly show that this budget does not go in the right direction of what the country needs. An IL budget would put people first and this must be the focus on the specialty, so that we can, through the proposals we will present (hoping they are approved), put the Portuguese first, finally.”