Manuel João Vieira delivered this Wednesday to the Constitutional Court (TC) the mandatory signatures to formalize his presidential candidacy.
The musician and visual artist, lead singer of the bands Ena Pá 2000 and Irmãos Catita, gathered 12502 signatureshaving appeared at Palácio Ratton, in Lisbon, together with the actor David Almeidanational representative of the presidential candidacy on January 18th.
Outside the TC, Manuel João Vieira stated that, in addition to the signatures (a number above the 7,500 required), his main difficulty was obtaining some documents. “It is true that there is an octopus that has, since 2001, been preventing candidate Vieira from entering political life and this octopus has a head and each tentacle has a little head that has more tentacles with more little heads. But this doesn’t make any sense.”
Quoted by Lusa, Vieira wants to be “an alternative to current political candidates” and reiterated his promise to “only give up if he is elected”. In the upcoming campaign, Manuel João Vieira will fight for “unlimited power, in the symbolic and metaphorical sense”. Portugal, in his opinion, “needs to take a leap forward and maintain speed” to return to being the country that “has already led the world in conquering international markets and led piracy and the sea”.
Manuel João Vieira at home, in the Lisbon neighborhood of Campo de Ourique, in 2010
Rita Carmo
“We have been suffering from an inert Sebastianism for too long. And at this moment we have to take the leap forward and continue what we were doing”, he concluded.
After reading a speech, he highlighted that his mother taught him that “the President must have at least 27 personalities to understand the entire country” and that his father taught him that “Portugal is not an identity, but a flow, sometimes turbulent, sometimes calm”.
“Portugal does not need administration. Portugal needs creation. We are a people who have gone through centuries because we have always believed in what does not exist. Today, I ask you to believe in a president who should not exist either, but does exist. (…) In the future 100 thousand years, only I can, in the second round, put an end to this stupid adventure. Long live absurd, luminous and absolutely necessary Portugal”, he concluded.