Ventura threatens with a motion of censure if the Government “gives any compensation whatsoever” to former colonies

Chega’s president, André Ventura, said this Friday that he will present a motion of censure to the Government if Luís Montenegro comes forward with some type of compensation to the former colonies.

This position was defended by André Ventura in Parliament, after on Tuesday, during a dinner with foreign correspondents in Portugal, the President of the Republic stated that Portugal must “take full responsibility” for what it did in the colonial period and “pay the costs”.

“I don’t know if the President’s statements were unfortunate or just politically unfounded statements. But there is one thing that I want to be clear in the country: on the day that this Portuguese Government gives whatever compensation, or whatever compensation it is to a former colony, brutally dishonoring our History, you can be sure of one thing: the motion of censure against the Government will enter that day”, he stated.

For the leader of Chega, this possibility would “brutally violate the duties that the Government and PR have towards their homeland”.

In the solemn session commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of April 25, 1974, in the Assembly of the Republic, the head of State heard criticism, especially from Chega, but also from the Liberal Initiative and CDS-PP, for having defended this possibility.

A year ago, in the welcoming session for Brazilian President Lula da Silva, which preceded the solemn session commemorating the 49th anniversary of the 25th of April in the Assembly of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa argued that Portugal owed an apology, but Above all, he had to take full responsibility for exploitation and slavery in the colonial period.