In statements to journalists at the port of Sesimbra, after a boat trip as part of the PCP Parliamentary Days, Paula Santos was asked about the announcement that the President of the Assembly of the Republic proposed hearing from former presidents of the Constitutional Court at a conference of leaders on freedom of expression of deputies.

In response, the deputy said that the PCP Parliamentary Group is still evaluating this issue, but added that, "more than hearings and listening to different opinions", the focus of the President of the Parliament should be the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of the Republic.

"Our Constitution is very clear when it states that there is no discrimination against citizens based on ethnicity, origin, or nationality. The Rules of Procedure are very clear when they refer to the obligation of the President of the Assembly of the Republic to intervene when there are injurious and offensive speeches. That is what must be done", she said.

For Paula Santos, Aguiar-Branco "was not well last week", when he admitted that a deputy can say in parliament that a certain ethnicity is "lazier or more stupid".

"We cannot admit that in the Assembly of the Republic - and we do not accept this - there is room for hate speech, racism, xenophobia, which seek to whitewash colonialism. This cannot happen and the President of the Assembly of the Republic must intervene and fulfill his duties", defended Paula Santos.

The parliamentary leader of the PCP defended that the rule of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of the Republic that provides for the intervention of the president when there are injurious and offensive speeches has existed "for a long time and there have been several processes of revision of the Rules of Procedure and this rule has always been maintained".

"It is provided for: no amendment is necessary. It must be fulfilled and this is the role of the President of the Assembly of the Republic. He must comply", he defended.

The President of the Assembly of the Republic proposed today to the parliamentary groups that former presidents of the Constitutional Court (TC) be heard at a conference of leaders, on Wednesday, on the freedom of expression of deputies and compatibility with possible "red lines".

This initiative by José Pedro Aguiar-Branco is part of a letter sent today to the presidents of the parliamentary groups and to the PAN deputy, as well as to the "vice-presidents" of the parliament and members of the bureau on the agenda of the next meeting of the conference of leaders.

According to his proposal, at the beginning of this conference of leaders, "the issue of the scope and limits of the freedom of expression of the deputies and its possible compatibility with the establishment of red lines will be addressed".

A question that arose on Friday morning, in plenary, after the leader of Chega, André Ventura, referred to the working capacities of the Turkish people regarding the construction of the new Lisbon airport, which led the benches of the BE, Livre and PS to defend the intervention of the President of the Parliament to prevent this type of speech that they considered "xenophobic".

Read Also: "Red lines"? Aguiar-Branco wants to hear from former presidents of the TC (Portuguese version)