Marcelo believes that clearing the forest implies a national debate without ideology.

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, said on Tuesday 27 December that the clearing of the forest is a “serious issue” and implies a “national debate” that should be “practical” and not “ideological”. .

This is a national debate that cannot be ideological. On the one hand, there are those who are more in favor of the intervention of state authorities, and there are those who are more respectful of private property. You have to be very practical in finding a solution that everyone agrees on and that works. If you are going to have a debate for a long time, in practice nobody removes it,” said Marcelo Rebelo de Souza.

During a visit to Penabeice, the village where a couple died in a fire that broke out in July, the head of state stressed that clearing the forest was a “serious problem.”

“Not only municipalities should clean up, but also those that are related to the land, and here we have huge difficulties, because we know how they live on a living wage. They can barely keep up with what they take from the land, how are they going to pay to clean up the forest?” Marcelo asked, stating that this is a “serious problem” and that it “recurs every year.”

Recalling a conversation with two shepherds on the way to the village, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa argued for the need to “think carefully about what a forest can and should be.”

“It may take longer, apparently less profitable, to be different, but it works for the near future and future generations,” he said, stressing that there should be “a different forest” in the country.

The head of state also stressed to those present that one of the lessons to be learned from the fires is the need to “assess the risk well” at critical points of the national territory, trying to install combat devices that “allow you to run faster.”

“It is a huge job that the Civil Protection will have to do to determine, looking at what has burned in recent years, what is about to burn, what can burn more seriously (…) and distribute the funds. depending on that, as much as possible,” he said.

In addition to the population and municipalities, Marcelo Rebelo de Souza stated that the prevention of combat devices is of fundamental importance.

If the forecast is that there is still a high chance of significant wildfires in 2023, then we cannot alleviate it, that is, it must be a strengthened device and see what to bet on, ”he added.

Another lesson to be learned, said the President of the Republic, the importance of decentralization, which he considered “fundamental”, even if it takes some time🇧🇷

“Often there is a part of Portugal that, because it knows less what is happening in other parts of Portugal, I’m only talking about the continent, does not have the sensitivity to understand why decentralization is important, why it is important. create conditions for the development of territories that would otherwise grow old and be left without a population,” he said.

Accompanied by Interior Minister José Luis Carneiro, the President of the Republic met with several elderly residents of Penabéis, revealing that he had made arrangements with the mayor of Mursa for a “secret” visit to the region during the fire, but he ended up not.

The fire that broke out in July in Mursa will cover more than 10,000 hectares in three municipalities of the district of Vila Real, namely Mursa, Vila Puca de Aguiar and Valpazos, where he is President of Mursa Mario Artur López. “More than half of the municipality of Mursa was affected by this fire,” the mayor said. On the outskirts of the village, a married couple aged 69 and 72 died after the car they were traveling in fell into a ravine. They were found already dead in an area engulfed in flames.