As DN anticipated, the Socialist Party prioritized, in Lisbon, initiatives to respond to the depressions and climate storms that have been ravaging the country. In the capital, Alexandra Leitão defended this Friday, February 13th, the need to create am a municipal emergency program to support families, local businesses, associations, sports groups and equipment affected by the recent bad weather, with an initial, extraordinary allocation of three million euros, citing “significant damage.”
In addition to asking for the assessment of infrastructures, as the Left Bloc had done in relation to the landslides that forced evacuations, the socialists wanted funds to be channeled towards reconstruction, protection of families and the economic fabric, and reinforcement of the response in public space.
“Faced with the increase in the frequency of extreme meteorological phenomena, from the perspective of the PS, a rapid, structured and proportional municipal response is required, which is not limited to restoring normality, but which also ensures the social and economic protection of the citizens directly affected”, it could be read, going back to a 2020 proposal in which Fernando Medina will have allocated “90 million euros to support companies, families, associations and the cultural sector.”
“Political opportunism”, accuses Moedas
The proposal was rejected by the right-wing coalition led by Carlos Moedas – now with nine votes, majority, for decisions, due to the co-optation of councilor Ana Maria Simões, who had been elected by Chega. In a statement sent to DN, the mayor of Lisbon criticizes “political opportunism”. “In view of everything above, this PT proposal, in addition to being politically opportunistic, appears to be untimely and unsupported. Each area of the city hall is carrying out this collection, which, unfortunately, is not finished due to weather conditions continuing to cause damage to the city. We voted against this proposal because it is demagogic and light-hearted that the occasion does not recommend. This Municipal Emergency Program foresees, for example, an extraordinary financial package of three million euros, but, to give an idea of the unpreparedness of the proposal, the pavement interventions alone will be around twice that amount”, advocated, in a very critical tone, Carlos Moedas.
The president of the capital highlights that “fortunately, to date, the bad weather has not caused the same level of damage as that seen in other areas of the country and is not comparable to the floods of 2022”, highlighting the focus on prevention and works parallel to the Drainage Plan.
“Examples of this are the Sete Rios tunnel, the retention basin in Praça de Espanha, the new Beato collector or the reinforcement of the collectors on Avenida de Berna and Martim Moniz”, he detailed in a statement, specifying that “all means and coordination for emergencies and relief were created and reinforced with the functioning of the Municipal Civil Protection Council, which brings together Municipal Civil Protection, Firefighters and Municipal Police” to respond “to all the city’s requests and needs.”
“The PS arrives late, arrives badly and arrives with the wrong focus to this debate. Time and the people of Lisbon do not call for political games; they ask for action and the resolution of their problems. This is what they will count on from us“, ends, Carlos Moedas.
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