The PCP’s secretary-general announced on Sunday that the party’s Central Committee decided to nominate its own candidate for the 2021 presidential election and declined to comment on Chega’s demonstration, saying it did not contribute to that pedestal.
These positions were conveyed by Jerónimo de Sousa at a press conference, during which he confirmed the intention of the PCP to present its presidential candidate as early as September, even before the party’s congress, which takes place in late November in Loures.
Asked if he could run for the third time in presidential elections, Jerónimo de Sousa dismissed that possibility, saying that his party “will find more and better solutions to such a difficult battle”.
The profile of the communist candidate is that of someone “who starts from complying with the Constitution of the Republic and affirming the values of April, and who combats inequalities and fights for the rights of those who work”.
“In view of this battle, he will be a good candidate or a good candidate, but the Central Committee has not yet assumed the name of the comrade or the comrade who will assume this great responsibility,” he said.
In relation to the next congress, this meeting approved “the criteria and the process for drawing up the list of the Central Committee to be elected.
On the other hand, still at the internal level, it was pointed out “the need to plan, as of now, the third phase of preparation of the congress, from the end of September,” in order to ensure the maximum involvement and participation of party members and to guarantee the just and necessary orientation of the Portuguese communists to face the demanding challenges of the complex times that we live “.
At the press conference, Jerónimo de Sousa was asked about the demonstration held on Saturday by Chega, in Lisbon, but said he would not give “to the pedestal of some forces that are out there now on the ground”.
“In 1974, it was much more difficult”, he commented, in an allusion to the extreme right in Portugal.
The communist leader later repudiated racism and xenophobia and considered that in Portugal “there are clearly racist episodes”.
“But I can safely say that the majority of Portuguese people are not racist. As for the PCP, it must be known that before April 25, 1974, being against colonialism was a crime. And there was only one party that was criminalized for that reason. : The PCP. We maintain this position of solidarity with the peoples, against colonialism, against racism and xenophobia “, he added.
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