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The dialogue appears in the form of a meme in a Facebook post between the PCP leader, Jerónimo de Sousa, and the prime minister, António Costa. Jerónimo appears as if he is speaking and says: “Not a euro more for the bank !!!” In the background, as if speaking behind Jerónimo, an image of the Prime Minister appears with the phrase: “Then there will be no party in the future.” A second image below shows a more resigned Jerónimo de Sousa and the answer: “Ok… but only these 850 million”.
The bank to which this publication refers will be Novo Banco, which, in fact, received a transfer of 850 million euros from the Resolution Fund, in a process that aroused several criticisms from the opposition (despite being a planned loan). But this transfer took place in May, at a time when the conclusions of the audit of that bank were still awaited.
The publication that suggests a “favor” from Jerónimo to the Government would only appear three months later, in mid-August, already very close to the time when the Festa do Avante takes place, the largest political and cultural event promoted by the PCP, which It is held on the first weekend of September and this year was involved in controversy for occurring in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many voices were raised against its realization and many others against the public position of Costa, who always said that he would never prohibit a political event, although he argued that the event must be subject to the rules defined by the General Directorate of Health ( DGS).
The Prime Minister, António Costa, said, still in May, that it did not occur to him to “ban political activity”, in response to a question about the controversy surrounding the possibility of holding the Festa do Avante. PCP always maintained that the event was not “a simple music festival.”
It was also in that month, let’s remember, that the PCP questioned the Minister of Finance about the injection of 850 million euros in Novo Banco, created to maintain the good assets of Banco Espírito Santo (BES). In the following days, in addition, the general secretary of the PCP repeatedly criticized the transfer of this amount to Novo Banco, even saying that this amount would be enough to “solve half of the social problems that currently exist.”
“So many times they tell us that there is no money to face the problems of the workers of our town, but the truth is that there is never a shortage to go to the bank, as happened a few days ago, with the transfer to the Novo Banco of more of 850 million euros. ”Said Jerónimo de Sousa, even considering the“ unacceptable situation ”.
At the end of that month, the PCP presented a bill to integrate the bank into the public sphere. It was the fourth time that the party had presented this proposal, arguing that the bank, after being nationalized, should reorient itself towards retail and support for smaller companies.
Since the bank’s resolution decision in 2014, decided by the Government of Pedro Passos Coelho and the Bank of Portugal, the State has even argued that Jerónimo de Sousa has already paid almost 8,000 million euros “for a bank that is not withdraws dividends and on which nothing can decide, despite owning, through the Resolution Fund, 25% of the institution. The general secretary of the PCP even defended the idea that, “if it is the State that pays the invoices of Novo Banco, it must be the State that controls its destinations. This is the “only solution for the control of a financial institution that discredits justice, the financial system and democratic life.”
During the month of August, the PCP met with the DGS to define the bases of the festival. And, at the end of the month, it was António Costa himself who announced that the rules established by that health authority had already been stipulated. Even so, the capacity set by the health authorities was not what Jerónimo’s party thought it would have. The DGS determined that it should be reduced to half the usual number, from 33 thousand participants to 16,563 people, in addition to other rules to which we have already become accustomed, such as the use of a mask, social distance and constant hand hygiene.
conclusion
The injection of 850 million euros into the Novo Banco was carried out in May and the PCP immediately spoke out against it, with several public demonstrations that demonstrated this and with the presentation of a bill, at the end of this month, calling for the nationalization of the Bank. António Costa never prohibited the holding of Avante because, as he said, it was a political event, and he left that decision in the hands of the DGS, as well as the definition of the rules that would have to be complied with, in case the event went ahead. The PCP always thought that there could be 33,000 people in the compound and ended up having to receive only half, according to the health authorities.
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INCORRECT
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