Comrades,
In the year of the 25th Anniversary of the 25th of April [1974 Revolution] we are here today, with the joy and the emotion with which we always felt the "Avante!" Festival, with its popular roots, its fraternal atmosphere, its youth, its political, cultural and entertaining activities and also with a clear assertion of the April values, of social emancipation, of the values and ideals that inspire the PCP and the communist militants in their daily action.
But now, just one month away from the general election, we are also here to say to the people and the country, that the PCP and the CDU [Unitary Democratic Coalition] go into this campaign with great confidence, with great hope and great will of doing everything so that there is a left wing turn in national politics.
We are here today to once again say to the workers, the youth and the Portuguese people that we go into this battle not to sow illusions, not to enter the deliberate and shameless auction of "promises and hunting for votes", in the style of "who wants to give more to the pensioners, the disable, the farmers?" or "who wants to cut down taxes by more?" or "who will sell us cheaper cod?", but quite the opposite, with full respect for the citizens and their difficulties, needs and hopes.
And the great undertaking that our Party solemnly declares here today, with the warranty of its practice and its struggle, is that we will not turn our back to difficulties, that we will side with the people and their just demands in small or large scale actions, and do our utmost to fight poverty, promote development, as well as the Portuguese people's living standards and quality, and a fairer sharing of the national income.
But we are also here today to say to the workers and the people that the level of achievement of these goals will be much higher if the voters strengthen the positions of the PCP and the CDU. Their voice will be better heard if the PCP and the CDU grows stronger. We go to this battle of us all, to broaden our influence, to grow and go forward, to serve the people and the country.
II
What is at stake in this election
There is no sense in hiding the historical truth that in many general elections, and clearly in that of 1995, there has always been a significant part of the Portuguese who identify with our action, our policies and our values, but who, when casting their vote, finally end up by embarking upon the PS [Socialist Party] appeals and enchanting singing, with the argument that only the vote in the PS would be useful to chase the right-wing from office and to prevent their return to power.
The artificially staged "bi-polarisation" coupled with the wide spreading of falsehoods like saying that the only real election contenders are the PS and the PSD, that only those that come first are able to decide or that we are only electing a Prime Minister, has led many voters to not understand the truth in what we have always said and now repeat: the CDU votes always contribute to defeat the right and the right-wing policies of whoever carries them out, that the CDU members of Parliament are MP's, who will always contribute to prevent the right from having a majority in the House.
What we need is many voters understanding that, four years ago, the right-wing would have still been pushed out of the office if, for instance, the PS would only have had 38% and the CDU 13%, with a major difference – the PS would not have spoken with such a loud voice in these last four years while the CDU would have had a much stronger influence, for the good of our people and country.
What we need is that many of the Portuguese who voted PS without great enthusiasm, but simply because they believed that if they didn't do it,
they would be making life easier for the right, may know that this time everybody recognises that the PSD, or the right as a whole, do not stand any realistic chances of reaching government and therefore any PS voting appeals in order to defeat the right, sound even falser than ever.
What is necessary is that many men and women, who are sensitive to the left-wing values and ideals, clearly understand that no harm (but plenty of good) may result from the PS loosing a few percentage points to the benefit of CDU on October 10th.
If, on October 10th, the CDU were the only amongst the main political contenders to gain electorally, then the right would not return to office, the PS would have to consider the drop in their vote as a criticism and serious warning to do the path they have trodden and to the right-wing policies they have developed, while the electoral gains of the CDU, besides its multiple positive consequences, would have to be interpreted as a clear sign and clear testimony that the demand for a new policy had been strengthened, the demand for a left turn in the government's policies, the demand for more respect for the workers, the demand for more social justice, the demand for a type of development which serves all and not just a few.
To the many Portuguese men and women who are on the left and who voted PS four years ago, because they thought this was the only way of putting the Cavaco Silva government out of office; to the many Portuguese men and women who, having progressive views, because disillusioned, on the last four years with the PS shamelessly copying the PSD [right wing liberal party] policies, with the PS praising Monteiro [populist right wing leader]and the PP [Popular Party: populist right wing party], the "Hotel suite agreements"; to all those who do not accept the obvious connivance of the PS government with big economic groups and big money "lords"; to all those who felt indignation by a government policy that is always so keen to cut and alter the rights of those who work; to all those who felt offended and provoked by the shameless PS attitude on the voting on sentence relief for abortion and with the PS and its government being subservient to NATO's military aggression, which brought war back into Europe.
To all those, we want to invite to a serene and responsible reflection: Does it make any sense at all that those who felt all this, vote PS once again on October 10th?
Does it make any sense to allow the PS to think that disenchantment, protest and indignation has no consequences on the vote?
No, it does not make any sense to repeat a vote that was not respected.
No, it does not make any sense to give absolute power to the PS, so that they feel they have their hands free to go ahead and do now all those negative things that they did not do until now, because they had not an absolute majority.
But in fact, either for protesting, for achieving positive changes, for weighing upon the flow of events, for obtaining answers to many pressing yearnings, it makes sense to give more votes and more MP's to the CDU. So that they may not put their hand on everything, so that the situation does not remain the same but rather changes for better, towards the left, to throw a stone in the pond of interests and businesses uniting both PS and PSD, to open up a horizon of hope and change, on the path of a left-wing alternative to this sad PS-PSD shifting in power, but always with the same policies.
An exemplary work
One only has to look at the pre-election band wagon to understand that some parties are keen to transform this election into a festival of demagogy and amnesia, leaving aside trouble some things like assessing what they've been doing in these last four years, transforming the election campaign into a never-ending abuse of endless words, to make people forget realities and some essential truths.
We want the voters judging us for our serious, innovative and well-founded proposals, to solve the people and the country's problems and for our commitments for the future.
We do not fear the voters judging the way in which we honoured our 1995 commitments about our action and struggle in these last four years.
And this is why, during this election campaign, whether the other parties want to talk about this subject or not, we will continue to draw the attention of the Portuguese to the immense, valuable and qualified work which the CDU MP's developed in Parliament.
We will continue to remind the people that the PCP and the PEV [Ecological Party the Greens] MP's were those who did more work – for with only 15 MP's they introduced 36% of the total number of draft bills – very distant from the PS and the PSD, respectively with 112 and 88 MP's.
But it was not just a matter of having worked more.
It also and essentially has to do with our work's quality, to such an extent that, while benefiting from the fact that the PS didn't have a full majority, the PCP Parliament Group managed to get 56 of its bills adopted, with very positive results in finding answers to several popular issues and yearnings.
It is an undeniable truth that everything that was more positive, adopted during this term of office, bears the mark of the PCP's proposals, contribution, intervention and vote.
These included the statutory minimum income, the broadening of the public pre-primary school network, changes in Income Tax (exempting, from deductions over 700 thousand citizens on lower incomes, and reducing taxes of some other 2 million people); the extraordinary increase, unfortunately very limited and insufficient, of retirement pensions; the government's commitment to endeavour to solve efficiently the problem of the NHS long waiting lists; the prohibition of pay discriminations for youngsters and more equality for the working women, protection of the immigrants rights and renovation of their clandestine housing; the law to set up a public network for treating and reintegrating drug addicts; suspension of the co-incineration process and of the choice of the Souzelas and Maceira's towns for that purpose, - all of this and much more derives to a very large extent, from our intervention.
But we don't simply present ourselves to this election as the political force that did more and better work in Parliament, the one that put forward more proposals, that monitored more the government action, that took into Parliament so many issues and demands from different social groups.
We equally appear in this election as a force that doesn't compare with any other, a force that everywhere waged a battle to protect workers
rights, against precarious jobs, for a 40-hour week, to defend jobs, for more and better jobs with rights, as a force that does not simply act within the institutions and that does not only appear during election campaigns. We face this election with an incomparable asset of presence and intervention in the Portuguese society, always on the side of those who suffer more and yearn for justice, always helping to organise resistance and struggle against extreme power and abuses, always on the front row of the great causes of human dignity and civilisation, as was blatant in the campaign for sentence relief for abortion and in the struggle against NATO's aggression to Yugoslavia, always faithful to the left ideals that have for long been betrayed and abandoned by others.
And the CDU candidates running for this election, well know workers and employees, technicians and intellectuals whose merits are well acknowledged, all people that are well tested in different professional areas and in civic, social, cultural and political intervention, give the sufficient guarantee of being capable of continuing and strengthening the valuable work carried out by the CDU MP's during the last term of office.
And I would like to underline that our list, besides having a large participation of youngsters (42 candidates are under 25), also clearly and unequivocally sets a difference in implementing the right to women's equality and in promoting their intervention in politics. Without imposing any quotas, but as a decision of our own, the CDU list has 110 women, 33,6% of the total number of candidates, over 1/3, well above last election 21%.
And it isn't simply the global worth of the lists. On the basis of the last election result alone, the election of five women CDU MP's would be ensured (a third of the MP's total member) but we are confident that if the CDU grows stronger as we expect, this number can still be increased.
The workers' struggle
We are in fact on the threshold of a great political and electoral battle, a battle whose results will determine much of the national political future in the next four years.
In our intervention and in our proposals to society we naturally give just prominence to the workers.
Because it is them, their just demands, their problems, their resilience and their struggle that have inspired and give our own struggle more reason for being, assuming ourselves as a Party of great causes and of the great social causes.
We shall appeal to the workers' vote because the PCP and the CDU deserve the workers' vote.
This Party promised and delivered in proposing Parliament draft bills for reducing working hours, fighting discrimination and work hazards, for the improvement of pensions of those who suffered work accidents or professional diseases, and for public administration workers' higher wages and improved professional careers.
This Party declared no truce on the PS government's more serious proposals, such as flexibility and multiskilling, part-time and night work and it prevented the adoption of draft bills such as changes in the annual paid leave scheme and in the concept of pay.
Above all this Party appears today before the workers as the only large political force which defends, fought and fights for the great cause of labour with rights, for dignified labour.
But allow me to pay tribute to whom deserves it.
From this rostrum, we salute the CGTP-IN which through its action, proposals and struggle asserted itself as the large unitary, democratic, autonomous, of the masses and class-oriented national trade-union centre, the Portuguese workers' great trade union centre.
This Party did not await this election campaign to wage a struggle in solidarity with the workers and the CGTP-IN against the dangers and threats which emerged from the PS government's original proposals, enclosed in the package of labour legislation.
This Party did not measure up the level of its intervention when the rights of the 200 Chiado workers or the 200,000 textile workers were being threatened.
This Party did not consult any election maps or measure up its influence when unmasking, defending or proposing solutions to the problems affecting the coastal fishermen, the public administration workers, the transport workers or in concrete companies such as Grundig, Cabos d'Ávila, ex-Renault or Petrogal.
This Party always spoke the truth during the privatising surge in communications, energy, transport or public administration, always fighting for a public sector and for public services that may secure the workers' rights and the people's interests.
Also the CGTP showed – despite the offensive against the labour laws, precarious jobs and de-regulation, impunity in view of individual and collective rights' violation in hundreds of companies – its strength and vitality, assuming an irreplaceable role in the Portuguese workers' organisation, unity and struggle.
When some were proclaiming that struggle had ended and was unnecessary, what a magnificent answer was given by sectors that hadn't organised
struggles for a long time, such as the coastal fishermen, the petrol tank drivers, the Lisbon hotel workers, the textile workers, etc.
When some were announcing the workers' widespread demobilisation and resignation, we had the largest demonstration, during the last decade,
in the streets of Lisbon, last March, against the package of labour legislation.
When some talked of the youth and working youth indifference with regard to the trade union movement, there were and there are so many youngsters fighting against the system of funding State higher education and now fighting the package of labour legislation, so many being elected for workers' councils in "Auto-Europa", in the "Arsenal" and in so many other companies.
And the JCP [Portuguese Communist Youth], whom we greet from this rostrum, headed many struggles and launched the debate on many important youth causes and problems.
With three months to go until the CGTP-IN' 9th Congress we want to greet all the trade unionists who are part of CGTP's structure and life, certain that in its preparation and implementation they will all unite around the great unitary goal which the CGTP embodies, with their action always geared at the workers, their interests and their rights.
III
Electoral pseudo- opposition and populism
In this electoral campaign, PS, PSD and PP try to show themselves angry at each other, they insult one another and say that they all disagree, but in the essential issues, we always find them arm in arm. As far as we know, there was no opposition or animosity in privatisations, in agreements outside Parliament or during the Constitution's review, or when they all voted State Budgets together.
Retired workers, old-age pensioners and the elderly are one of the targets. They all promise high pensions, trying to hide that what they really want is votes in order to put pressure for the privatisation of Social Security and of the last public Bank remaining.
Impudence and populism become ridiculous when a candidate changes hats when visiting fishermen or farmers, and he even announced to the Press an initiative, in the following way: "the candidate will visit a cow barn and milk a cow..."! What he didn't say was if he was driving a horse cart or a Jaguar.
But the real truth is that, in practical terms, they are all apostles of neo-liberalism and that they all united to prevent important PCP draft bills from being adopted, such as a shorter working week; more control over the information (secret) services; women's retirement age being brought back to 62; the draft to develop a State network of pre-primary education; to introduce generic medicines; for an extra increase of downgraded retirement pensions; to change the law on collective dismissals; to strengthen the workers rights when being assigned or transferred to other companies, etc., etc.
Reason why we insist that more respect for the people is needed.
Reason why, against false promises, populism and neo-liberal policies promoted by the "central block" with support from the PP, all built into "a unique thinking", we propose:
A development policy geared, not at the increase in the wealth concentration, in inequalities and destruction of natural resources, but rather at a fairer sharing of the produced wealth, at environmental protection, supported by the valorisation of national production, the support to small and medium enterprises and a modern and dynamic public sector.
A policy that rejects the perverse logic of the package of labour legislation and industrial relations precariousness and insecurity, but rather favours the valorisation and protection of jobs with rights and quality, the real wages' increase, all of these as structural and decisive element of Portugal's economic and social progress.
Those who already know us, know well that we always fulfil our pledges. That we only have one face and one word. That we don't need to cry hypocritical tears for the pensioners on television, while in parliament rejecting measures which would lessen their suffering.
This is why we can clearly, today at the "Avante" Festival, present to the Portuguese a set of proposals containing urgent measures that, should they be implemented immediately as Parliament opens, would allow us to find answers to some of the most pressing national problems and would have a deep and positive impact in the lives of the Portuguese and in the country's development process:
The annual increase of the statutory minimum monthly salary, at least 3% above the inflation, which would give us a figure of 75,000 Portuguese Escudos in the next four years, thus significantly raising the purchasing power of many workers, among them many thousands of youngsters who are subject to brutal exploitation; the increase of retirement and old-age pensions, already as from December 1st – 4,000 Escudos for the lower general scheme pensions and 3,300 Escudos for social allowances and farm workers pensions, followed by yearly increases of 3% above the inflation and women's retirement age to be brought back to 62; to lay down a plan to fight precarious labour and a calendar for the progressive reduction of the weekly working hours to 35 hours, without loss of pay or rights; free school books in the State compulsory education [9 years];
Increase of government funding in medicines which are essential to chronic diseases and to rationalise State spending with medicines by using generic medicines, prescription by active substance and other measures; Significant increase of State funding of prostheses and compensation devices (glasses, hearing aids, dental prostheses, among others); adoption of the Tax Reform's first measures, already in next year's State Budget, tax cuts on labour incomes, substantial cuts in tax benefits presently given to financial investments, effective fight against tax evasion, taxing shares or stocks of the Stock Exchange or outside it, as well as of currency exchange operations that do not derive from sales operations.
Aid to farmers, through the CAP, with a higher share given to family farming. Cutting the price of household electricity by 10%, for we are presently paying the higher prices in the European Union. These are proposals that take into account the country's reality and resources. They are not ready-cooked for a press conference and forgotten soon afterwards. These measures are inseparable from our fight for a new policy, on the left, for Portugal, a policy which may promote a fairer distribution of wealth and natural resources, to satisfy the rights, basic needs, living aspirations and problems of workers, the youth, the farmers and the pensioners of Portugal.
IV
What are "passions" and priorities worth!
The PS has been declaring during this session of Parliament its priority of fighting poverty and to "education", this having been its "passion" and also that, should it become government, health will be its new priority!
First of all, it is necessary to say that the PS did not fight poverty. The PS simply tried to relief poverty through the Minimum Income which was a measure initially proposed by the PCP.
But the Minimum Income does not fight the causes of poverty.
Poverty can only be fought with a significant improvement of the lower pensions and of the National Income's distribution, with more tax equity and more support to the elderly and those in isolation.
Well, what the PS government may boast about is that, despite the economic growth that nobody denies, the distribution of national income has continued to show a decline for the workers, labour precariousness has mounted up and Portugal is today the European Union country with
the wider gap between the 20% richest and the 20% poorest! They can boast about having overtaken the PSD in the plunder of public enterprises with the low hand in privatisations, opening up the door to foreign domination, as it is visible in the Santander/Champalimaud case.
As for the "passion" for education you only have to listen to teachers, students and parents and look at the scandal of students with very high
marks having to go to Medical Universities in Spain, for they have no vacancies here, while we see an ever growing number of foreign professionals here.
The government says that out of its own initiative, it will create two Medical Faculties. The truth is that they only made that decision at the end of their term of office, but always keeping the "numerus clausus".
The serious situation of health; legal services that are expensive, slow and distant from citizens; the continuation of unfair taxes; or at another level the scandal of the non-existence of a Monitoring Council for the Information Service. All these situations in this term of office are sufficiently known and speak for themselves.
Even regarding the combat against drug addiction which the Prime Minister repeatedly classified as being the Number One enemy, these last four years bear essentially the traces of hesitation and lack of measures capable of more efficiently fighting drug dealers.
The PCP never transformed the drug abuse problem, which unfortunately hits so many families, into a Party banner.
Reason why we have the authority to say that if the PS, immediately in 1996, had supported the draft Bill which the PCP had introduced and which would put an end to jail sentences for simple drug consumption and treating drug addicts as sick patients instead of common criminals, instead of
going along with demagogic longer jail sentences, today we would have a law on drug abuse which would be fairer, more humane and that would
have allowed to recover many drug addicts far from the jail's environment.
At this stage I would like to mention that the PCP also considers it urgent to propose a draft Bill, at the forthcoming elected Parliament, on more developed measures to be taken in order to fight large-scale capital' traffic and laundry, the broadening of the drug addicts' therapy and reinsertion public network, Advisory Offices and Therapeutical communities.
And when the issue regarding the funding necessary to the PCP proposed measures is raised, namely a significant increase of the pensions, we must clearly say the PCP is a responsible Party, always backing its proposals in the State Budget, with clear means for their funding.
But still concerning this question why is it that the PS, PSD and PP never ever mention the scandalous tax benefits given to financial operations and to the Banks, "poor Banks that are so poor...!"
In the last three years alone the difference between what Banks should have paid in taxes, and what they actually paid is more than 135 billion escudos, almost as much as the cost of the Vasco da Gama Bridge or more than seventy times the cost of the 33 Km stretch of motorway, recently inaugurated with pomp and circumstance!
On behalf of the PCP I would like to greet our CDU partners and all foreign delegations who honour us with their presence in this Festival of ours.
But allow me to address very special greetings to the delegation of Timor who during years of struggle and resistance were always present here
with us, receiving the warmth and the solidarity of the Portuguese Communists, who always considered the cause of Timor as a national cause.
Always defending the cause of Timor's self-determination and independence, in active solidarity with this cause, even when in Portugal and in the World, many considered it definitely lost, the Portuguese communists who know well the worth of solidarity, are simply proud to have fulfilled their duty.
In greeting the Timor delegation, I would like to pay tribute to all those that gave their lives for freedom and to greet Xanana Gusmão, all political prisoners, all exiles, to reiterate that they can always count on the PCP' solidarity in this new stage of their national liberation struggle. It is now urgent that the UN and Indonesia stop the massacres, violence and intimidation and that, once and for all, they disarm the militias.
The ballot result, under those conditions, are an extraordinary proof of the Timorese people's love for freedom, patriotism, strong beliefs, determination and courage.
The people of East Timor also gave a worthy contribution to the struggle of the oppressed peoples, confirming it is well worth fighting and that only by fighting can we achieve what we are entitled to.
Solidarity with the Timorese people must go on!
Long live the people of Timor Loro Sae Long live free and independent Timor
But while talking of Timor we want also to remind ourselves of Angola, its people's drama, the hypocritical sentences passed against Savimbi with no practical or effective consequences and the double-standards policy of the USA and of the so-called international community, when looking at Yugoslavia, Iraq, Angola, Palestine or the Curds' situation in Turkey.
And the dangers weighing over the peoples' struggle find a new threat in the changing of NATO's strategic concept, a NATO which more and more
shows itself as the armed hand of North-American imperialism's interests and aims.
In a deeply changed international framework, mutual solidarity and the common and converging struggle of the Communist, left and progressive forces are more important than ever, reason why we highly praise the presence of so many friends and foreign delegations at this Festival.
On October 10th, what is really necessary is not choosing one of two sides from the same coin, PS and PSD, who have ruled in Portugal with the same fundamental guidelines and disguise their coinciding policies with faked duels and personal guerrilla warfare.
On October 10th, what is necessary is to strengthen the CDU.
This is the message we need to carry across Portugal, direct at the heart and intelligence of all the Portuguese. So that when they are casting their vote they don't separate their voting choice from everything that happened in Portugal in the last four years.
Voting CDU is the most useful choice for all those who do not resign to having different governments but all with the same policies.
A choice for all those who want to give back to politics its dignity, truth and sense of public service, those who know that we do precisely this, when in public office.
A choice for all those who recognise the PCP and the CDU as the great force of the left, active and in solidarity on all occasions and not just during elections. For all those who know that this Party, the Portuguese Communist Party, will not desert the values and causes which gave meaning to 78 years of its life, a Party that with the working class, the workers, the youth and the Portuguese men and women who cherish the ideals of freedom and social progress, will continue, with renewed energy, its struggle for deepening democracy, for socialism, for Portugal.
Long live the 23rd "Avante!" Festival!
Long live the Portuguese Communist Party!
Long live the CDU!
