Greetings to all of you for your presence and for the contributions you brought to this Public Session that discussed, in these times of epidemic, the worsening problems faced by our retirees and pensioners and the importance that the struggle has in their lives for the valorisation of their pensions and retirement and for the implementation of sanitary and health protection measures, which must be guaranteed and enhanced in this difficult situation we live in. With regard to pensions and retirement, our commitment and our initiative aimed at valorising them are well known.

Today we mark the ninetieth anniversary of the Avante!, the central organ of the Portuguese Communist Party, which is proud to say that, in its long life, it fulfilled its role as a class-oriented newspaper, an irreplaceable weapon of the PCP to serve the workers and the people, without ever allowing itself to be subjected or intimidated by the terror of the fascist dictatorship or by the many attempts at silencing by the dominant ideology and powers.

On the day that marks its Centennial, the PCP promotes a wide range of initiatives throughout the country, centred on the problems of the workers, the people and the country under the motto: 100 years 100 actions - Freedom Democracy Socialism - For rights, improvement of the living conditions and social progress. Against exploitation and impoverishment. The PCP takes to the streets the demand for a policy that responds to the problems, aspirations and demands of the workers and Portuguese people.

The State of Emergency and the lockdown are an exception, not a solution. The extension of the current situation is unsustainable, not only due to the economic and social problems that emerge from it, namely employment-wise, but also due to the health conditions of the population. The situation in which more than one million households are living in, several of which in telework while their children are in distance learning or are under their full-time care, is unsustainable.