It is not the first time that the President of the Republic has moved away from the most evident spotlight to unleash important reactions to the present day and on the first day of the lack of definition, he went to a radio station in Pico, Azores, which showed his displeasure with the celebrations of May 1 that he himself allowed, in contrast, praised the attitude of the Catholic Church in Eucharistic celebrations, especially when an important pilgrimage is approaching. Marcelo says that the “debate is mixed” and that “the realities are different”, but he himself implied the comparison of behaviors.
In the last renewal of the state of emergency, Marcelo had made it clear that the celebration of the 1st of May would be allowed provided the necessary physical distance was allowed. It was a point of honor, to show that the state of emergency was in line with democratic rules. The streamlining of the traditional demonstration of Alameda Afonso Henriques, in Lisbon, was later agreed by the health authorities and it is for them that the President pushes responsibility for what happened on the streets last Friday.
The images of gatherings near the Alameda, after the organized demonstration with space between the participants, triggered criticism and also some discomfort with the Catholic Church that keeps the collective worship suspended, as well as the pilgrimage of the next May 13. “This debate mixed with the 1st of May. These are two different realities, the Church defined its position before May 13 ”.
As for the manifestation of the union centrals, Marcelo confessed, in a telephone interview to Rádio Montanha, in Lajes do Pico: “When I made this rule [no decreto do estado de emergência] I thought of a more symbolic ceremony. I had a more restrictive interpretation, like the April 15 ceremony ”. “THE interpretation of health authorities was wider than I had in my mind, ”he added.
In Chiado, Lisbon, at the door of a bookstore he visited on the first day of lack of definition, he added to the journalists that his idea “was more symbolic, like April 25, that I fought so hard for it to be in a number less than 100 people“. An example that was not followed by those who decided later. “It was the health authorities who decided”, justified the President: “The decree empowered the health authorities to appreciate the matter and they appreciated it”.
The Azorean radio had already said that the security forces also ended up “interpreting that union leaders had an exception” to the rule of non-circulation between municipalities that was valid for all Portuguese. And recognizes that this motivated “Criticisms and concerns”, but that “fortunately the Portuguese, in a majority form, for the rest of the weekend set an example of great outcry and did not embark on adventures”.
The President even says he perceives the criticisms “to the dimension and characteristics of what happened. The most I can say, since I respect the authorities and security forces and at this moment we cannot divide, is that my idea was more symbolic and restrictive and not of this dimension and number“. When, at the door of the Chiado bookshop, he was confronted with these statements and asked if he had not liked what he saw on the street last Friday, Marcelo said that he had nothing more to say on the subject.
At the press conference on the daily epidemiological bulletin at the General Directorate of Health, Secretary of State António Sales he was confronted with these statements by the President of the Republic and just stated that “it is up to the health authorities to define the health rules, taking into account the best evidence at every moment”, and “every moment the reality is evolving”. He added: “Today’s realities are not yesterday’s.” He refused to comment on Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s statements, but reiterated the statement in what turned out to be an answer: “The definition of health rules is the responsibility of the health authorities”.
The situation served, however, counterpoint – albeit indirect – with the stance of the Catholic Church that says it has set “a good example” in the management of its celebrations. “That [1º de maio] it has nothing to do with any limitation to the Catholic Church and other confessions and who, by their turn, chose to set a good example. And for that I am very sure ”. The comparison between what is not mixed was made.
The ceremonies in Fatima (open air but without pilgrims), related to May 13, are those that “common sense and sanitary measures advise”, underlined the President who also pointed out that two of the saints “linked to Fatima died with penumónica ”, referring to the visionary children, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, canonized in 2017 by Pope Francisco at the Shrine of Fátima. “The Church is aware when it is before a epidemic of this magnitude“, He said, focusing on Catholic principles of“ safeguarding the right to life and health ”. And also assuming, as a Catholic, that he is the “first to miss the Eucharistic celebrations, but this for a greater value, which is the right to life”.
Before “Storm at the wedding reception” (so he classified this controversy) had already left, in the interview with the Azorean radio, alerts about the month that started now, even saying that “May is misleading”. “The results at national level in the coming weeks will be very hopeful because they result from a confinement during the state of emergency that lasted” but that this phase “reverberates two or three weeks later”. In other words, Marcelo predicts that “a new truth will emerge, after the steps taken in the reopening at different rates, in June”. “It is during June that we will begin to have a picture of how the transition from a lesser coexistence to a greater coexistence is projected in terms of the number of people infected and the stress it causes or not in health structures”, he argues.
“O May is misleading, it will give low numbers but the effects will be in June and, later, the effects of the June openings will be visible at the end of July ”, added Marcelo, who says that“ the challenge is not over yet ”. “So far we have achieved the most difficult and it is merit for everyone. The stress on health structures was contained in hospitalizations and intensive care, but we are aware that the challenge is not over and there will always be great challenges in health ”.
“With the passage from a smaller coexistence to a greater coexistence and in how this is projected in terms of the number of infected people, we will see the stress it causes or not in health structures”, he said without closing the door to a new wave that may even get out of a little careful deflection.
The Government asked for “clarity” in the presentation of the supplementary Budget that will have to be passed in Parliament in the near future. But it also puts weight on the European Council’s decision to conclude a solid economic recovery plan for the Union. The President calls for “significant amounts”: “The European Union must understand this.” Nor does it stop biting the Government here, specifically in the delays in responding to the simplified layoff it created to respond to this crisis, pointing out that “each month that passes and the money does not reach the pockets of people and companies, it is another month in life of the flesh and blood ”.
At the end of the interview, Marcelo also said which three worst moments this period for you. It started with the quarantine that he did even before everything started. “Nobody understood”, he recalls. The second was the declaration of a state of emergency and the third was its renewal. And this because “the situation was already much better and people started to ease”. At that time, he explains, he also felt that “If the state of emergency prolonged it would kill him. From the moment it became trivialized, if it was necessary to use it later in an aggravation of the outbreak or in a new outbreak, it was a weapon that could not be used again ”. But in the calamity situation, “it is necessary for the Portuguese to know that you cannot play on duty”.
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