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The protesters claim that they are held responsible for the contagion of the pandemic in Portugal and were in front of the Doña María II National Theater, surrounded by a visible police apparatus, where they made themselves heard and left complaints that always ended the same: “Restoration and culture are dying!”. Those present, masked and with a certain social distance, held posters that read the main demands of these sectors.
QThey claim to be the scapegoat for the pandemic and assume themselves as the most responsible for security, but claim that, despite this, they have been the most affected.
“They are killing 100 percent of the restaurants for three percent of the contagion,” read one poster. “We want to work, let us live” or “There is no health without economy” They were other phrases that were read on the posters of some protesters.
During the protest, the protesters called on the neighbors to evade the confinement and leave the house to participate in the protest, arguing that since the right to demonstrate remains enshrined even with the new state of emergency, those who protest do not have to comply with the mandatory withdrawal. .
Organizers complain that they have been forced to lay off workers, especially in the cultural entertainment sector, but also in restaurants, hotels, discos and bars and tourist transport.
The protest is part of the “A Pão e Água” movement, led by chef Ljubomir Stanisic kitchen. The owners of restaurants, bars, nightclubs and cafes demand the lifting of the obligation to close doors at 1 p.m. and ask for a package of financial aid for the sector.
Commerce and restaurants started this Saturday the first of two weekends in which they can only open between 8 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon, under a state of emergency, a measure contested by several business associations.
Extraordinary catering support when closing on weekends
The Minister of Economy also said this Saturday that The exceptional support to the restaurants of the municipalities under the state of emergency, to compensate for the loss of income in these two weekends, will reach 25 million euros.
It is an exceptional measure and complementary to others that already exist for the restaurant sector, consisting of a support equivalent to 20 percent of the revenue lost this weekend and the next, compared to the average billing for all purposes this week. year.
At a press conference, the minister explained that In the specific case of this support, the calculation of the average loss of income is made by comparison with the weekends of the first nine months of the year because the objective is to compensate these companies for what they could bill if they were open.
The country is in a state of emergency from November 9 to November 23, a period during which there is a mandatory curfew in the counties with the highest risk of contagion and neighboring municipalities. During the week, the curfew must be respected between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., while on weekends circulation is limited between 1 p.m. on Saturday and 5 a.m. on Sunday and between 1 p.m. on Sunday and 5 a.m. Monday hours. .
Thus, this exceptional support, to be paid in December, Iwill join the 1,103 million euros that have already been made available or announced for the catering sector, which includes 286 million euros through simplified dismissal and support for progressive recovery, 12 million euros through to adapt the program and 580 million euros in credit lines. The data released this Saturday by the minister indicate that of the 750 million euros contemplated in the Apoiar.pt program, 200 million will be absorbed by the catering sector.
Pedro Siza Vieria also said during the press conference held in Lisbon, that the first Apoiar.pt payments are expected to be made from December.
We trust that during the month of December we will be able to make the first payments “Siza Vieira said.
The invoice data communicated by the catering sector to the Financial Portal allows you to complete the The drop in turnover compared to 2019 was 1,860 million euros (31 percent less) in the first nine months of 2020, which shows that the situation of the restoration is “a significant loss of income” and “the difficult impact derived from this pandemic. “
The minister noted, however, that These income deficits “are not necessarily due to the measures taken by the Government”, but mainly to the fall in demand and the “disappearance of a very important segment of demand. [o turismo] out of our control. “
In this context, he stressed that the Government will continue working to mitigate the impact of this crisis, adding that it is considering how it will be possible to support the income of the commercial sector. The government, he said, continues to assess the evolution of the impact of the crisis and “adapt the responses.”
