There is a big difference between the official figures and the perception that the extreme right tries to convey in Portugal. One of the safest countries in the world is, in his words, “increasingly insecure.” Although the data does not prove it, this idea of insecurity, motivated by a supposed “uncontrolled immigration,” has contaminated the political discourse and measures of the democratic right that governs the country in recent months. As a result, there have recently been questioned police actions and restrictions have been approved on foreigners’ access to public healthcare.
In the traditional Christmas message that the prime minister addresses to the country on the night of December 25, Luís Montenegro gave great prominence to the issue of security. “We are one of the safest countries in the world, but we have to safeguard this asset so as not to lose it,” said the conservative politician, who affirms that he only wants to “promote regulated immigration to welcome those who choose to live and work with dignity and humanity.” .
Montenegro lowered its tone after weeks in which the Government has ordered the police to become more visible and carry out operations in neighborhoods with the greatest presence of immigrant populations. This is a request reiterated months ago by the mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas (of the same political color as Montenegro), who denounces a “perception of greater insecurity” in the city due to the supposed lack of police officers.
A greater perception of insecurity is motivated by “personal predispositions and greater access to information,” explains Isabel Rocha Pinto, director of the Social Psychology Laboratory at the University of Porto, in a scientific article. “We validate as true information that responds to our intuitions and predispositions, considering false or questionable information that does not validate our position,” as is the case when crime figures have not increased in Portugal.
It is the perfect storm: the extreme right uses social networks to spread false or decontextualized videos that incite hatred against immigrants or minorities, at a time when the presence of this population is more visible, given the great need for workers. foreigners for jobs in agriculture, commerce, services and industry. The perception is also heightened by the existence of a popular television channel, CMTV, whose programming focuses on live debates about crime and football.
Controversial police operations
The most controversial police operation took place on December 19 in the Lisbon neighborhood of Martim Moniz, in which the officers put several dozen people – mostly of Nepalese, Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi origin – against the wall to search them, without any suspicion. It is a neighborhood where most of the businesses – grocery stores, tourist souvenir shops and small mobile phone repair shops – are owned by people from South Asia. The operation resulted in two arrests: a 27-year-old man who frequented one of the registered businesses and who was carrying a large dose of cannabis, and another who had an arrest warrant for robbery.
The images of the supposedly disproportionate police action were defended by right-wing parties that support the Executive, which governs in a minority, and highly criticized by the left. They were enough to mobilize the progressive parties that, united, went to the Martim Moniz area to talk to the neighbors and distribute carnations, a symbol of the democratic revolution of half a century ago, in an unusual joint action. On the other hand, personalities linked to left-wing parties and civil society, such as the writer and journalist Pilar del Río, will file a complaint against the police.
Those who experienced the police action up close have no words to condemn what they experienced. Quoted by the newspaper Expressothe leader of the Bangladeshi community in Portugal, Rana Taslim Uddin, affirms that “it was the first time” that he had seen “an operation like this.” He assures that the neighbors of migrant origin “were very scared.” “Putting ourselves against the wall was indecent, (…) most of the people who live there are [en situación] legal,” argues the leader of a community that already has 70,000 people, many of them “doing hard jobs that Europeans don’t want to do.” The face of the Bangladeshi community does point out that problems with drug trafficking “have grown in the neighborhood since the pandemic,” a situation that affects more neighborhoods and is not specifically due to the arrival of immigrants from Hindustan.
“In recent months the Government has intensified the persecution and harassment of immigrants throughout the country,” says the organization SOS Racismo in statements to elDiario.es, which denounces that a “xenophobic and racist vision of the flows” is being established. “migratory.” The association also accuses the Government of “instrumentalizing the police through mega-operations with great media impact.” In their eyes, this operation has only served to “humiliate and intimidate” the migrant population. In response, a protest against xenophobia and racism has been called on January 11.
The police action also provoked the reproach of the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who welcomed the opening of an internal investigation to clarify the position of the police, but limited himself to saying that “security must be exercised respecting the rules.” constitutional and legal”, in what can be considered a direct criticism of the way in which the operation was carried out. In recent weeks, the disagreement between the President of the Republic and the leader of the Government has been made public – despite both coming from the same center-right party. “We were happy and we didn’t know it,” said the head of state in a recent speech in reference to the times when he was dealing with the government of socialist António Costa.
The leader of the far-right Chega party, André Ventura, has not been slow in trying to profit from the raid. On Monday, he walked with his followers through Martim Moniz and greeted some neighbors. A small group of people as they passed exclaimed “April 25 always, fascism never again!”, in reference to the Carnation Revolution that ended the Salazar dictatorship in the country 50 years ago.
The fence tightens in healthcare
The controversy has not ended police operations. In response to the problems plaguing Portuguese public healthcare, such as the inability to respond to all emergency telephone calls and lack of staff, the Government of Montenegro has chosen to focus on alleged abuse of the system by unauthorized foreigners. residents who, according to the Executive, carry out a kind of ‘health tourism’ in Portugal to receive free treatment.
Although there are no concrete figures to identify the magnitude of the phenomenon, the cases exposed in recent months by the press and amplified by the growing anti-immigration discourse have led to restrictive measures on access to health services for non-residents or those from the European Union. or from a third country with an agreement in this area. With the exception of emergencies, access to healthcare will no longer be free for all undocumented people who use Portuguese public healthcare. The proposals, presented by the two allies of the right-wing Government, were approved in the Portuguese Parliament with the support of the extreme right.
The measure has been criticized by the left for its “lack of humanity.” Almost a thousand health professionals have signed a letter criticizing this change in the law, threatening to disobey it and continue serving foreigners as always.
Also, in recent months, the Government has made the procedures for accessing the country more difficult for the purpose of the “manifestation of interest”, a declaration that allowed a foreigner from a non-EU country to apply for a residence permit in Portugal. . Now, to enter the country, it is necessary to previously present an employment contract or a document that formalizes the promise of employment. These rules are more permissive for citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries, since the Government considers that they represent immigration with a “greater potential for integration in the country.”
The Government has also promised to create two temporary detention centers for people without papers, with the aim of returning them to their country of origin, although the prime minister avoided making comparisons with the detention centers that Italy has built in Albanian territory. It is not yet known when the construction of these centers will take place.
In Portugal – which has historically been a country of emigration, especially to France, Luxembourg, Brazil, the United States and Germany – there live one million immigrants, the vast majority (35%) from Brazil. Currently, they represent one in ten residents. On the contrary, Spain was the main destination for Portuguese emigration last year. More than 70,000 Portuguese chose the neighboring country to live.
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