This Sunday, the Secretary General of the PKP accused the government of “sham” measures and of using inflation, high or low, as an excuse for not increasing revenues, arguing that the executive should act and not “hide”.
Jerónimo de Sousa spoke at the traditional closing rally of the 46th Festa do Avante! in Seixal, Setúbal district, and on the eve of the emergency council of ministers where measures are taken to combat the current context of inflation, the communist leader believes that “the inflationary spiral that has been going on for a year now and moving without brakes, causing alarm and seriousness.
“But no less serious is the policy of impromptu measures. A policy that eludes what matters most, eluding the replacement of the purchasing power of wages and pensions and the necessary and mandatory price controls,” he criticized.
According to the Secretary General of the PKP, this policy “combines the PS government and a set of retrograde and reactionary forces of the SDP, CDU, Liberal Initiative and Cheg with their deceitful and hypocritical aid measures to cover up the origins and mechanisms of extortion and overexploitation.”
“The inflationary spiral, which was sold to public opinion as a transient phenomenon, at the same time rejected wage increases so as not to stimulate inflation. For this reason, when there is inflation, wages do not rise, so as not to favor the “inflationary spiral,” he criticized.
“In other words, workers and people are paying to have a dog and paying because they don’t always have an inflation valve,” he said.
In this context, the communist leader urged the government to act and not “hide”.
“This exploitative and speculative rage, which moves with impunity, must be stopped. The government can and should intervene, and not hide, as PSD, CDS, IL, Chega and CDS defend, behind false rules that serve the interests of big business. and new privatizations of the liberal order,” he defended.
From the PKP’s point of view, urgent measures are needed, effective from September, including “a general increase in wages and pensions in percentages that replace and increase the purchasing power of workers and pensioners this month” and “a temporary increase in the national minimum wage to 800 euros.
Other measures include setting or fixing maximum prices for essential goods, “namely energy, fuel and food, including the possibility of setting prices below current prices”, as well as reducing the VAT on electricity and gas to 6%.
The party is pushing for emergency taxation of corporate profits, and in housing it is proposing “setting a maximum ‘spread’ to contain the rising costs faced by families with home loans and adopting a foreclosure and eviction regime.”
In a speech lasting about 45 minutes, the communist leader left several critical remarks about the executive branch led by António Costa, also referring to the recent resignation of Health Minister Marta Temido.
“The government knows that the more time passes without taking the necessary measures, the more the social media response deteriorates. [Serviço Nacional de Saúde]. Despite this, the Government does not offer solutions! The SNA is not saved by the resignations of ministers. The right to health is guaranteed through investment, recognition and retention of professionals,” he warned.
At various points in his speech, Jeronimo de Souza stepped up his critical tone, even with irony, namely when he spoke about the Decent Work Agenda, the government’s package of measures to combat instability in the world of work.
“Let’s see what he [PS] understands decent work […] the declared guarantee of dignity was only in the title of the agenda,” he joked two moments later.
Jeronimo also mentioned the Plan for Recovery and Resilience (PRR).
“Hosanna was sung to the savior of the PRR. The Governor of the Bank of Portugal now tells us that his structural influence will be limited. So many fireworks, so much propaganda! More money for the big business that lives off the guaranteed income sectors. Very little to overcome our structural weaknesses, modernize, innovate and diversify our manufacturing sectors, and support MSMEs [Micro, Pequenas e Médias Empresas]he complained.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
