With Chega absent from the vote, the left remaking the device and the right (and the PAN) abstaining, the new aliens law was approved in parliament, in a debate marked by the confrontation between the Chega bank and Augusto Santos . President of the Assembly of the Republic, after André Ventura intervened.
In Ventura’s words, when approving the new legal regime for foreigners, the government wants immigrants to “come anyway” and accused the government of not giving priority to “Portuguese who have worked all their lives and support the country”, even going so far as to say that the immigrants coming to Portugal are not the same as the Portuguese in the international diaspora, sparking protests from several delegates.
Following this statement, Augusto Santos Silva intervened and pointed Ventura to batteries: “I have to say that as President of the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal I believe that Portugal owes much, if not a lot, to the many thousands of immigrants who work here and contribute to our social security”he said, receiving applause from several benches—with the exception of Chega, who fought back in the voice of… Ventura, who said Santos Silva, as Speaker of Parliament, must “abstain from making comments” about deputies’ interventions and accusing him of being partisan in the positions he holds.
After the altercation between Santos Silva and Chega, Ventura’s party left the plenary, advising that the deputies would not return to what was the last debate before the parliamentary holiday. As a result, Chega ended up missing the vote on a diploma he handed over.
In statements made after the end of the debate, André Ventura stated that “there is an absolute majority and a President of the Assembly of the Republic is held hostage by that majority” and accused: “[Augusto Santos Silva] just means enough.”
Last Sunday, the leader of Chega already announced that the party will submit a motion of censure to Augusto Santos Silva, which will be discussed in September (after the parliamentary holiday). This Thursday, Ventura explained that: “it is a recommendation to a sovereign body to censor the president” and Parliament, he explained, “votes freely on whether or not to censor”.
Law aims to streamline processes
But what defends the law passed Thursday, beyond the controversy, and what are its goals? By adopting this new law, the government mainly wants to streamline processes. It is like that because, according to the provisions of the diploma, it will be easier for immigrants from countries of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) to enter, stay and leave the national territory.
At the same time, it is also envisaged that a permit will be created that will allow entry into Portugal for job seekers, valid for a period of up to six months, streamlining processes and facilitating situations such as remote working.
PSD and IL speak of “hasty” approval
The other right-wing parties (which abstained) criticized the approval of the diploma through the vote of the PSD and the Liberal Initiative.
For Social Democratic deputy Sara Madruga da Costa, there are “important aspects of the diploma”, but there are also others that “deserve a lot of doubt”, such as the supervision of minors, and from the perspective of the PSD it remains to be clear who the will perform inspection of the document. In turn, Liberal Initiative (IL) deputy Patrícia Gilvaz criticized “the hasty legislative process”, but said the party favors initiatives that “promote regulated migration and promote the country’s development”.
Other episodes of tension between Chega and Santos Silva
“There are no collective attributions of debt”
On April 8, in parliament, while André Ventura was making generalizations about the Roma community, Santos Silva interrupted him and said that “there is no collective guilt in Portugal”, and later asked him to continue the intervention “but this principle to be respected”.
Santos Silva refuses to talk about death penalty
On June 29, Santos Silva decided not to allow the Chega law on life imprisonment, because it “blatantly violates” the principles of the constitution. Ventura responded by saying that the rejection of the diploma was a “bad political practice” that does not make the Assembly worthy.
Enough presents motion of censure
Last Sunday (17th), Chega announced that it will table a motion for a resolution condemning the behavior of Augusto Santos Silva on the grounds that the Speaker of Parliament is not impartial or exonerated in his position, as the former Foreign Minister their rights.
rui.godinho@dn.pt
Source: El heraldo
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.
