Government responds to president's call to ‘pay costs’ of colonialism // Concerns over corruption investigation that ended government
Portuguese news in English on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
Government responds to president's call to ‘pay costs’ of colonialism
Portugal’s government has distanced itself from any move to pay reparations to former colonies, after President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said the country had to “pay the costs” of slavery, Público reports. The government said it wasn’t involved in any process or specific actions related to reparations and was following the same line as previous governments. But it did want to "deepen mutual relations, respect for historical truth and increasingly intense and close cooperation, based on the reconciliation of brotherly peoples".
Marcelo last week told foreign correspondents at an event that Portugal "takes full responsibility" for past wrongs and crimes, including colonial massacres, Reuters reports, in English. "We have to pay the costs," he said. "Are there actions that were not punished and those responsible were not arrested? Are there goods that were looted and not returned? Let's see how we can repair this."
The political reaction was swift, with far-right party Chega accusing the president of being a traitor and calling for a vote of condemnation, while some on the left said it was already past time for the discussion, Público reports. Marta Temido, who heads the opposition Socialist Party’s list of candidates for the upcoming European elections, said dealing with the issue in an off-the-cuff remark was “disrespecting history”. Marcelo on Saturday said the country had an “obligation” to “lead” the reparations process, Público reports. But he said that didn’t necessarily mean paying compensation, pointing to examples such as forgiving debts and allowing greater freedom of movement from former colonies. “We can’t brush this under the rug or put it in the draw,” he said.
Concerns over corruption investigation that ended government
Portugal’s ombudswoman is “deeply concerned” and “perplexed” with the handling of the corruption investigation that brought down the previous government, Expresso reports. Maria Lúcia Amaral said everything indicated there'd been a serious mistake made by public prosecutors in Operation Influencer. “There aren’t unlimited powers in Portugal, there can’t be and everyone would agree with that,” she said.
Her comments came after the Court of Appeal in Lisbon found prosecutors had failed to demonstrate any influence Diogo Lacerda Machado, a consultant and close friend of António Costa, had over the former prime minister, Diário de Notícias reports. Judges described the alleged “criminal plan” as “mere deductions and speculation” and accepted the appeals of five suspects against bail measures imposed on them. Costa resigned last year when prosecutors announced he was a target of the investigation into the construction of a hydrogen plant and data centre in Sines, as well as lithium mining in the Vila Real region. His chief of staff was briefly detained but Costa denied wrongdoing and was never charged. The president of parliament argued the prosecutor-general should face parliament to explain the processes behind the political crisis, Público reports.
You can read more about the case from Reuters in English here or see how the story originally played out in my newsletter from November.
Unmonitored landlords break 2% rent increase limit
Many landlords are breaking the previous government’s 2% limit on new rental contracts thanks to a lack of monitoring, Público reports. Housing rights advocates are receiving complaints about the practice every day, including instances where owners declare the original rental value to tax authorities but charge the difference to tenants. Since October, any home on the market in the past five years can only be rented out for 2% more than the previous figure, except where yearly inflation-based rental increases hadn’t been applied. But Luís Mendes, the secretary-general of the Lisbon Tenants’ Association, said breaking the limit was “the norm, not the exception”. The new government has promised to repeal the restriction, which was introduced as part of the Mais Habitação (More Housing) measures.
In brief
New tax breaks risk increasing inequality again. Even cuts made by the previous administration to the lower tax brackets increased inequality, Bank of Portugal studies found, because the Personal Income Tax (IRS) regime is progressive. (Público)
Public prosecutors open inquiry into hot air balloon death. His girlfriend said the man left the balloon's basket after it hit water near the shore of a dam in Mourão. The balloon company’s director said the death couldn’t be considered an aeronautical accident because he left the basket voluntarily. (Público)
Portugal commemorates the Carnation Revolution – in pictures. Thousands took to the streets in Lisbon to celebrate 50 years of freedom. (The Guardian, in English)
Portugal lost more vineyards than any other country last year. Wine-producing area shrunk worldwide for the third year in a row, with Portugal, the 10th largest producer in the world and highest per capita, losing 11,000 hectares. (Diário de Notícias)
On a lighter note
A Portuguese scientist has taken out the highly coveted (I assume) European Seagull Screeching Championship, the Brussels Times reports, in English. This competition, held at the Verloren Gernoare café in De Panne, Belgium, has somehow been running for four years now. As you can probably guess, it’s a bunch of people being rated on their seagull noise skills, with 25% of their score given for “behaviour”. I haven’t been able to find footage of the adult winner, Simão João, but this video of the nine-year-old junior category winner should give you some idea.