Presidential candidate Henrique Gouveia e Melo said this Tuesday, November 4, that he has received support from people from the PS, PSD, CDS and not just politicians, reaffirming himself as independent and without parties.
“Yesterday [segunda-feira] Doctor Manuel Pizarro did the favor of declaring his support and for me it is important to have the support of independent people who have also been in politics for a few years, but I am supported by many people from other sectors, they are not just politicians”, said Gouveia e Melo.
The candidate was speaking to journalists at the end of a visit to a shoe factory in Felgueiras, in the Porto district, and one day after the support of former socialist Minister of Health Manuel Pizarro for Gouveia e Melo’s candidacy was confirmed.
Asked about this support, Henrique Gouveia e Melo said that “in private” he receives support from the PS, PSD and CDS.
“Some even say: ‘I have to pretend that I’m going to support another candidate, but then I’m going to put a cross in his name’. It’s part of politics. I’m independent, I run without parties, my party is Portugal, and all Portuguese people can be part of that party”, he said.
Manuel Pizarro, who lost the election for the Porto municipality to Pedro Duarte in the elections held on October 12, attended the Conference Cycle: Accelerate Portugal – Artificial Intelligence, organized by the National Association of Young Entrepreneurs on Monday, to attend Gouveia e Melo’s intervention.
Also on Monday, in an interview with RTP, João Cotrim Figueiredo, former leader of the Liberal Initiative who is running for President of the Republic, assured his independence, guaranteeing that he was not linked to “discreet organizations”.
“If someone approached me from Freemasonry and wanted to support me, I would refuse that support, because I do not consider that a discreet organization in a democracy should have the influence that Freemasonry has in some political organizations”, declared the candidate.
Faced with these statements, Gouveia e Melo downplayed them: “Portuguese society has many Freemasons. Most of them do not make themselves known, nor does anyone know that they are Freemasons. It is like saying that there is support from Catholics or Christians”, he said.
For the retired admiral, these “are things that are now used for political debate, but in reality they have no meaning”.
“When I talk about independence, it’s independence from interests, but also from party logic. This opponent, who I respect as a person, as an opponent, saying that he has party independence is a bit difficult for me to believe, but that’s it, that’s his position”, he concluded.