Mayor Rui Moreira blames far right – and far left
Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, has said that far-right and far-left forces are contributing to an atmosphere of hatred and violence in the city where two immigrants were allegedly knifed by the same man earlier this week.
Speaking on the sidelines of a visit to a school in Porto, where he marked the start of the school year today, Rui Moreira also argued that Porto “has always been made up of people who came from outside”.
“The city has to realise that it is not just made up of people who have their roots here, no, it is made up of people who have built their roots here,” he said, arguing that the discourse of incitement to hatred and violence “is not just from the far right as people say”.
The far left is also to blame, he considers, particularly when it comes to comments about the city being ‘gentrified’ due to people ‘from the outside’ buying property in the city.
PJ judicial police today arrested a 26-year-old man suspected of attempted murder and the offences of discrimination and incitement to hatred and violence, which took place against two immigrants in the Campo 24 de Agosto district.
Quizzed specifically about these attacks, Moreira admitted concern.
“We’re very concerned about all kinds of violence, but this kind of violence is terrible, because it shows that we have people in our society who haven’t understood what is going on (…) cities are places where different people cross paths, different races, different religions, with different ideas (…) that’s what makes a city cosmopolitan”.
The mayor stressed that he will be presenting the city’s demographic figures at the next meeting of the Municipal Assembly on Monday.
“After 40 years of population losses, the population in Porto is growing, and in schools too, we have more and more children, many of them from migrant communities,” he said.
But violent crime has also been on the increase, and these last incidents, this week, have left one of the victims in a serious condition in hospital.
After the rampage, the PJ has said “in order to avoid his identification and arrest, the suspect changed his physical appearance and routines.”
Despite this, the PJ’s “uninterrupted” endeavours enabled him to be found and arrested “in less than 48 hours after the crimes.
The man has still not faced initial questioning by a magistrate, nor have bail conditions been set.
As Lusa’s report concludes: “In recent months, downtown Porto has been the scene of several disturbances and hate crimes, which, according to a PSP source has led to a “reinforcement” of police surveillance in areas considered most critical.
Source material: LUSA
