"The demonstrations in the cities do not take place because the Mayor wants them to or not. It is a constitutional right that people have. If, by chance, they consider that the Constitution or the law, which is from 1974, is poorly written, please amend it and give power to the Mayor, and in that case, I will know what to do", said Rui Moreira, in statements to the Lusa agency.

Stressing that the authorizations for holding a demonstration do not depend on a Mayor because they are "merely communicated" to him, Rui Moreira stressed: "The Mayor cannot prevent them under any circumstances. Those who can prevent them are the security forces [PSP, GNR and Judicial Police] if they understand that there is a risk to private property and public safety".

The leader of the Left Bloc, Mariana Mortágua, said this morning that Rui Moreira is "opting for the far-right narrative", criticizing the mayor for not having prevented an initiative of the Ergue-te party that took place this morning in front of the Junta do Bonfim building, a parish in Porto where, on May 4, attacks on immigrants occurred.

"I regret that the Mayor of Porto, who is an uncompromising defender of Portugal, of Porto as an open city, is opting for the far-right narrative. Only someone who tried to do something to prevent the demonstration can say that the law does not allow it", said Mariana Mortágua, who this morning participated in a march at the Feira da Senhora da Hora, in Matosinhos.

To Lusa, and safeguarding that if he had the power to do so, he would prevent far-right demonstrations, Rui Moreira reiterated that it is not up to him to prevent or authorize demonstrations, nor even to make "connections or assess what happened in Porto (...) and the demonstrations that have occurred in the meantime".

"There is something that has been said by the far left, but has also been passed on in social networks, that the Porto City Council authorized far-right demonstrations. This issue bothers me because if I could prevent them, I would. If it were within my competence to prevent a far-right demonstration, I would do so regardless of the circumstances", he said.

The mayor added that, regarding the Ergue-te action this morning, he has already contacted the commander of the Porto PSP, who pointed out to him that "the demonstration took place and there were no incidents", which proves that "the PSP [when authorizing the action] assessed it well", added the mayor.

"Naturally, I consider that having had today -- even though it had no impact -- an Ergue-te demonstration in Campo 24 de Agosto is, objectively, a provocation. But I have no instrument to stop it", he said, reiterating: "We cannot base conspiracy theories".

Rui Moreira recalled similar matters and criticisms that have already led him to speak with the District Attorney General, José Norberto Martins, to question him whether or not a Mayor has the legal legitimacy to prevent a demonstration.

"The Attorney General told me that if I understood trying to prevent this demonstration, I was subject to committing an illegality", said Rui Moreira.

At issue, he added, would be the possibility of incurring an act of violation of Article 45 of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, which protects the Right of Assembly and Demonstration.

Still on this subject, according to Rui Moreira, the District Attorney General referred to opinion no. 15/2021, of February 17, 2022, of the Attorney General's Office, which states: "Under the terms of the law itself, the authorities that prevent or attempt to prevent, outside the legal conditionality, the free exercise of the right of assembly incur criminal and disciplinary liability".

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