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Catarina Martins, Bloco de Esquerda’s Coordinator, said that Bloco de Esquerda has defined four priorities in response to the crisis in the 2021 State Budget’s debate, which have not been accommodated by the Socialist Party Government.

Bloco de Esquerda, in its humanitarian, democratic and socialist spirit, expresses solidarity with all Latin American peoples and all countries in crisis. We contend that humanitarian and health aid should be brought to all populations in need.

Bloco de Esquerda presented a set of proposed amendments to the Supplementary Budget for 2020, which appears as a response to the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, currently being debated in the Portuguese Parliament.

“The international community cannot turn a blind eye to what is happening, or it risks becoming a passive accomplice of this scourge”, warn the Bloco de Esquerda’s MEPs.

The decisions taken by the Eurogroup were limited to a package of debt instruments, some of which are the result of initiatives already known to the Commission, in addition to the use of the European Stability Mechanism. This mechanism currently practices a higher interest rate (0.76) than that of the most recent emission made by the Portuguese State of seven-year Treasury bonds.

This measure results in a temporary residence permit and avoids crowding of the public at the SEF (Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras – Immigration and Borders Service)  during the pandemic. Beatriz Dias, Bloco’s MP, welcomes the decision that guarantees access to social benefits for many "migrant people who work and contribute to social security revenues".

Speech by Catarina Martins in the March 18th parliamentary debate on declaring the State of Emergency in Portugal due to the Covid-19 pandemic crisis.