PS says Lisbon is "at a standstill". Moedas disagrees

The PS in Lisbon considered this Tuesday that the city's management is at a standstill, with problems in urban hygiene, public lighting, security, mobility and housing, while the mayor, Carlos Moedas (PSD), called for positive developments in the capital.

“Today we can say with firmness, joy and passion that Lisbon is much better than it was when we arrived. With more jobs, more culture, more city and more soul”, said the social democrat, at the meeting of the Lisbon Municipal Assembly (AML), in which he took stock of the four years of the 2021-2025 mandate, having received a standing ovation from the deputies who were part of the “New Times” coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança).

Governing Lisbon without an absolute majority, under the leadership of PSD/CDS-PP, Carlos Moedas highlighted the measures implemented as free public transport for the youngest and oldest residents of the city, with “today there are 100 thousand people who do not pay for public transport”, the investment in the Gira network of shared bicycles and the Unicorn Factory, with 700 companies supported, 75 technology multinationals and “the creation of 16 thousand jobs”.

The PSD mayor also highlighted investments in housing, including the delivery of “more than 2,600 keys” and the support of “more than 1,200 families” in paying their rent, having been questioned by Chega about the percentage attributed to immigrants, responding that “he would never ask Lisbon residents where they come from”.

Deputy Patrícia Branco, from Chega, also asked about the allocation of 127 municipal houses to families who had occupied them illegally, with the PSD mayor explaining that it resulted from the regularization of situations, for example, of people who continued to live in homes with contracts in the name of family members who died, adding that the council has also carried out “more than 90 evictions”.

In this regard, the sole deputy of Aliança, Jorge Nuno Sá, said that there are 809 houses illegally occupied in the city and “the highest percentage of occupied houses is in the parishes of Santa Clara, Marvila and Carnide”, which are three parishes that “equivalent to 50% of Chega's growth” in the last legislative elections, on May 18, questioning whether “these are the parasites of society or the good Portuguese people”.

In response, Chega defended compliance with the rules, “regardless of whether they are voters or not” of this political party, and added, in a statement, that the increase in votes in these parishes is justified “by the fact that Lisbon residents are tired of these illegal and socially unjust occupations”, repudiating the statements made by Aliança.

On behalf of the PS, deputy Hugo Viera da Silva contradicted Carlos Moedas' assessment of the current mandate: “Unfortunately, what we see is a city at a standstill, a city that sees its European counterparts moving further away, falling further and further behind.”

“We no longer demand boldness, we only ask for competence, organization and response to the most basic, rudimentary issues of managing our city. We need a functioning Lisbon”, complained the socialist, pointing out problems in urban hygiene, public lighting, security, mobility and housing.

The PS asked about the LIOS project – Sustainable Intermodal Line in the western part of the city, which will connect Alcântara to Oeiras, with the social democrat revealing that it will be a line with BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) buses, instead of a light rail, and that the project will be presented in July.

As part of the fight against climate change, Carlos Moedas highlighted the General Drainage Plan for Lisbon (PGDL), stating that the project was “shelved for years, a victim of political inertia that did not have the courage to undertake a project of that size”, and adding that today the first tunnel between Monsanto and Santa Apolónia is almost complete, with more than four kilometres already drilled to a depth of over 70 metres.

The PS considered it “unfair” for the PSD mayor not to mention the work carried out before this term in office at the PGDL, to which the social democrat recalled the recognition of engineer Carmona Rodrigues and added that he would invite the previous mayors who were involved in this work over the last 20 years to visit it.