Candidate for Belém rejects a link between immigration and crime, arguing that the “keyword” in this area should be “integration”
Belém candidate Henrique Gouveia e Melo has completely distanced himself from anti-immigration rhetoric, even if it means losing votes in the presidential race.
In an interview with Lusa news agency, when confronted with the possibility that his anti-immigrant rhetoric might win him votes, the former Chief of Staff of the Navy responded: “Then I’ll lose votes.”
Citing economic studies, the retired admiral indicates that Portugal, to reach the top of European countries, "needs to grow at least 3% per year, if Europe grows between 1 and 1.5%."
"And we are growing 1.5% or less per year," he noted, adding: "The Portuguese economy needs to develop and we need immigrants to develop that economy," he declared, highlighting the fundamental contributions of this community also to the balance of the Social Security balance and to the continued payment of pensions.
"We need immigrants to develop. Immigration is not a problem, it's an opportunity," he emphasized.
Despite intending to combat anti-immigrant "hate speech," Gouveia e Melo rejects a Manichean policy of "yes" or "no" to immigrants, speaking out against the entry of foreigners who promote intolerance, such as violence against women.
But he also rejects a relationship between immigration and crime, arguing that the “keyword” in this area should be “integration.”
"I'm rational. If they can prove to me that there's a type of immigration that's harmful to the state, of course I don't want that immigration, but they have to prove it to me. It's not because I don't like immigrants, or because the Portuguese population is upset with a certain type of immigrant and thinks all immigrants are bad," he said.
For the admiral, immigration policy should involve identifying foreigners who can transform Portugal into a "more productive, higher-value-added economy" and avoiding those who will "make labor cheaper and allow lower-value companies to continue to prosper."
"The Portuguese population cannot forget one thing: that emigrants send more money to Portugal each year than all the funds of the European Union. We depend not only on immigrants here, who contribute to our economy and social security, but we also depend heavily on our emigrants who have been accepted into other societies."