Marcelo says that the demonstrations are “legitimate” but asks to avoid the “spiral of violence”

The President of the Republic considered that the demonstrations on Saturday are “legitimate.” However, he asked for non-violence.

The demonstrations are “an expression in democracy of the state of mind of the Portuguese people and, to that extent, they are legitimate,” said Marcelo, after leaving a mass for the victims of covid-19, in Fatima.

“The right to demonstrate is democratic, the outrage of the people is natural. That’s what it’s all about ”, he reiterated.

“That there be a demonstration, yes, the concern to find solutions to the problems, yes, that we are entering a spiral of violence that only aggravates the confrontation between the Portuguese, which I think we must avoid,” he appealed.

The head of state stressed that “the worst that can happen is a confrontation between those who want the country to open up and those who fear it.”

“We found a division that could be due to age or social status. We have to avoid this, ”he said.

It is recalled that this is the first day of the first weekend in which the mandatory collection comes into force from 1:00 p.m. in the highest risk municipalities in the country. That same day, in Lisbon, the catering businessmen protested against the measures imposed by the Government.