Presidential candidate João Cotrim Figueiredo reiterated this Friday (November 21) that he was pressured by Luís Marques Mendes’ supporters to give up his candidacy and considered that the candidate’s reaction shows fear about his rise in the polls.
Speaking at the end of a visit to the Pisão Social Support Center, in Cascais, João Cotrim Figueiredo reacted to the statements of Luís Marques Mendes, who accused him of dishonesty, indignity and “using the worst tricks of traditional politics”after the former IL leader said in an interview with Expresso who received pressure from other candidacies to abandon his, pointing to Marques Mendes.
Cotrim Figueiredo reiterated that “there was pressure from Marques Mendes’ supporters”, stressing that, by denouncing them, “he wanted them to stop and it worked”.
“Therefore, for me this matter is closed. There is no longer any pressure because they realized that this candidacy is to go all the way, because it has its own space, it is not hostage to any other strategy or candidacy”, he stated.
Regarding Marques Mendes’ reaction, Cotrim Figueiredo said he could only conclude that he was showing “some fear in the face of [sua] increase in polls and confirmation” that the possibility of reaching the second “is not only real, but strong”.
Asked whether the pressure he received was just from supporters or people from the candidacy, Cotrim Figueiredo replied: “Everything I said at the time I said exactly in the terms in which I should have said it”.
“The objective was to stop these pressures from occurring. These pressures no longer exist, so I’m not going to go back to the subject because I don’t need to”, he said, again refusing to reveal who pressured him.
Also this Friday, presidential candidate Luís Marques Mendes accused his opponent Cotrim Figueiredo of dishonesty, indignity and “using the worst tricks of traditional politics”, denying pressure from him or the candidacy on the former president of IL.
“I have never in my life put any pressure on João Cotrim Figueiredo. I haven’t spoken to him in over two years. And no one from my candidacy was ever mandated to have any conversation with him in this regard. The news is, therefore, completely false, fanciful and an abuse, an indignity”, these.