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Presidential candidate João Ferreira made a trip on Tuesday on the surface metro between Seixal and Almada to demonstrate that the physical distance in public transport, imposed by the pandemic, is unrealistic, even outside rush hour.
“He saw the conditions in which we travel in the composition of Metro Transportes do Sul, which I believe are neither ideal nor desirable, due to the conditions of physical distance that it was not possible to guarantee in a period like the one we are in, which is no longer rush hour, ”he told the Lusa João Ferreira agency.
Therefore, the candidate warned of the need for “more investment” in public transport in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and in the rest of the country.
“I justified this choice (…) with the great difficulties that the populations faced here and still face with regard to public transport, the struggle that the populations, the users promoted here, and that was fundamental for the consecration of this important achievement that it was the intermodal social pass, “he explained, adding that, despite this,” there is still a need for more buses, more trains, more ships, investment in the respective companies and the reinforcement of public intervention in this sector.
The presidential candidate made a trip, starting at 11 am, on the surface metro between the Casa do Povo station, in Corroios, Seixal municipality, and the Almada station, in the municipality of the same name. Within the composition, it was not possible to comply with the physical distance imposed by the pandemic.
Upon his arrival, the communist MEP and member of the Central Committee of the PCP was received by almost a hundred supporters who applauded him and sang the song “João advances with confidence”, all wearing a mask and some even with Portuguese flags.
João Ferreira said that this concentration of people “was not foreseen”, since it was only a “symbolic action on the issues” of public transport, but that “it is a very encouraging and demonstrative sign” of a “current of support” for the candidate. which hopes to expand to the rest of the country.
Asked by Lusa whether the large concentration of people near a metro station could not send the wrong message to the rest of the population, since the number of infections is still high and any meeting is discouraged, the candidate praised the use of a mask and the “guaranteed reasonable distance”, which is “absolutely crucial”.
However, Lusa found that some people present in this campaign action did not practice social detachment and others even broke it completely when it came time for the photographs with the candidate.
Asked why he did not dispense with contact with the population, even with the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, the communist justified the decision with the “civic dimension of the elections, of citizen participation, which does not end on election day. And it must have “expression throughout” the campaign.
During the speech he gave after the trip on the surface metro, João Ferreira praised “the fiber and strength” of the candidacy that will contribute “so that more and more people realize the importance” of having the Presidency of the Republic “to someone who uses the powers that the Constitution attributes to him to be consistent and consistent with the oath that he takes to defend, fulfill and enforce the Constitution.”
On the sidelines, the candidate considered that the presidential elections cannot “pass through the people”, since citizens are not “mere spectators of a parade of personalities.”
The presidential elections are scheduled for January 24. The candidates for the Presidency of the Republic are João Ferreira, the current head of state, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Ana Gomes, Marisa Matias, André Ventura, Vitorino Silva and Tiago Mayan Gonçalves.
