Hugo Mendes receives a wave of affection, but also “a lot of negative”

Nthe sequence of an interview by actress Beatriz Godinho, who confessed that he is currently sharing house with eight people and paying about 700 euros for a room, Hugo Mendes also shared his life experience.

The commentator and reporter of the “Red Passeira”, SIC Caras, confessed that “he lives stuck between the sword and the wall of having to pay an income that occupies 80% of my salary, a job, because then he needs two or three more”.

After such sharing, Hugo Mendes was very cherished on social networks, but also received “negative” comments, as he himself shared in another issue of the “Red Passeira”. 

“ Let me thank you for your immense affection. I shared the video of my opinion I gave here on Friday about my life and my experience, and about the lives of many, many people. I have received many, many messages. Thank you very much”, he started by saying. 

“ So many people who've come into contact or reached my page for the first time. Thank you so much for that hug, but deep down, I spoke on behalf of so many. But, of course, in the middle of a video that goes with almost a million views, I also have a lot of negative and unfair things, even”, he added. 

“ And I still have a tendency [...] to come across the comments [negative] and it still makes me want to go there to answer. Different views are great, and there are several mini debates there that I think are quite productive – far from being the owner of reason. Now, I also have to learn [to ignore]”, he concluded. 

During his sharing, Liliana Campos also referred to the text that Vicente Alves Do Ó wrote after the testimony of Hugo Mendes, who said he also read the words of the filmmaker.

Read the text of Vicente Alves below From the O:

“Hugo has been a 40-year-old man, a communication professional and SCI worker for many years. He often appears on television with a smile on his face and good disposition. Last week, during the program that he edits and where he is also an occasional commentator, he opened his heart when talking about camping and housing. And in an unexpected moment, he ended up talking about the reality that lives beyond television. Lives off work. In fact, of several jobs and still pays monthly income for a small apartment in Lisbon 80% of its earnings. 

Hugo's not a success case. It's a case of resistance. From someone who feels exploited and cannot give in, otherwise everything falls apart. Like Hugo there are thousands of Portuguese. Thousands. With the rope around his neck. That they look like a loose life, but that they squint to have a roof. Thousands of people who besides precarious employment live in a house from which they can be expelled very easily. And no, the Hugo or Hugo case in this country is not a matter of applauding. It is not because you work as a slave that you deserve the recognition of others.

This stupid idea we deserve more, the more we are willing to endure, is one of the worst inventions of the savage capitalist. The Portuguese state has no obligation to give a house to all people. But you have an obligation to create a reality where people can do for themselves and be rewarded. Where the dwelling is accessible and according to the gains of each. Where speculation can't take care of everything. Lisbon has thousands of homeless people. Thousands.

These days, the new homeless are people with jobs who can't afford an income. Punishing these people for not being able to have a house, treating them badly and being prejudiced by their struggle is proof that this society that capitalism invented is shit.

They want us consumed, selfish, insensitive, crude, ignorant and obedient. They want us to believe it. If we don't have something, whatever it is, it's because we don't deserve it. And to see so many people who barely have a place to drop dead, to despise a generation of kids who demand a better future... is to hit rock bottom.”