MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Wednesday night, the Greek parliament voted in favor of the new bailout measures, paving the way for the resumption of monetary aid from its international lenders.
"I think that the plan, introducing austerity measures, adopted in Greece… is a very cruel plan. And this tax increase will entail a recession and a rising unemployment rate. Drops in wages and pensions will bring Greeks and their families numerous hardships," Morais said.
"The plan on privatization, which is also included [in the new agreement] will undoubtedly lead to a loss of all property, which is now owned by the Greek people," Morais added.
According to him, this is exactly what happened in Portugal over the last few years, where companies were sold "for a song, on sale."
"I think that Greek politicians should visit Portugal and see the terrible consequences of raising taxes, recession, haphazard privatization," the presidential candidate concluded.
Greece, along with several Southern European countries such as Portugal, Spain and Italy, was hit by the aftereffects of the 2007-2008 economic crisis, with its overall national debt estimated at some 175 percent of the country’s GDP.
Greece owes some $270 billion to its major creditors — the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank (ECB) and some eurozone countries — and is unable to repay its current debt without additional external funding.
