In a speech at a public session about culture in Lisbon, João Oliveira mentioned that the CDU rejects the "logic of commodification, homogenization and colonization" of culture, addressing the theme of patent registration and industrial property to exemplify the coalition's position on this subject.

The candidate indicated that, when he speaks of sovereignty, he is not doing so "in the chauvinistic conception of nationalism, to close oneself off within borders", but to affirm that this conception of national identity "is built on interaction, dialogue, cooperation with others, with their cultures".

"This implies affirming national sovereignty by rejecting any and all perspectives of annulling our identity, our culture, our heritage, our language", he indicated.

On this point, the candidate mentioned that, when one has a patent registration system "that allows a patent in Portugal to be valid if registered in English, French or German", this signifies "a form of colonization of the country", which leads "to the obsolescence of the Portuguese language from a scientific standpoint".

"If we do not demand, from a perspective of affirming national sovereignty, that, also in patent registration, in industrial property, the Portuguese language be required as a basis for the validity of these patents, we are signifying that other languages will develop from the standpoint of approaching challenges and scientific and technological creation, and ours will fall behind", he warned.

João Oliveira also emphasized that it is necessary to guarantee that Portuguese effectively functions as an official language in European institutions, mentioning that, currently, "translations do not always arrive on time" and, often, documents are voted on without the translation having reached the MEPs.

"Let us agree that MEPs from the CDU are also needed to affirm - from this standpoint, which seems like a merely pragmatic issue, but which is not only that -, also for that, for the Portuguese language to be defended in the European Parliament", he affirmed.

In this brief speech, which he admitted to making off the cuff, João Oliveira maintained that the elections for the European Parliament are "a battle for democracy" and emphasized that the CDU is "fighting it in all the dimensions in which democracy is built: not only in the political dimension, but also in the social and cultural dimension".

The CDU candidate stressed that the coalition does not see culture "as a product that is marketed, like any other product, in which there are individuals who are treated as consumers and others as producers".

"We are in favor of the conception of democracy as a space for individual and collective construction, as a space for construction that we share and invent in relations with others, not only within the space of our borders", he affirmed.

Before his speech, a manifesto was released, signed by 135 cultural workers, appealing for votes for the CDU.

In the manifesto, signed by personalities such as musician Paulo de Carvalho, actor Gonçalo Waddington or Moonspell vocalist Fernando Ribeiro, it is stated that the integration of the EU has contributed to a "conception of culture as mere entertainment", subordinated "to the interests of the dominant ideology".

"As cultural workers, we recognize the importance of political representation committed to defending and promoting the rights of the artistic community, of cultural workers and of the population, committed to a conception of culture as a common good", it reads.

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