The mayor of Lisbon guaranteed this Tuesday, February 24, the protection of families affected by the expropriation of a building in Alcântara as part of the expansion of the Metro, but highlighted that the legal responsibility lies with the public transport company.
“The City Hall will protect these families. The responsibility may lie with Metro, but we will protect them, there is no doubt about that. And if there is any confusion or any doubt here, the families can come and talk to me. We will protect these families. There is no doubt about it”stated the president of the municipal executive, Carlos Moedas (PSD).
The mayor was speaking at the Lisbon Municipal Assembly meeting, in response to questions from several deputies, including PS, PCP and PEV, as part of the presentation of the municipality’s work between December and January.
PS deputy Mauro Santos, president of the Alcântara Parish Council, began by regretting the omission of information from Carlos Moedas about the process of expropriation of the building in Alcântara, owned by the Lisbon City Council, as part of the construction of the future metro station in Alcântara, adding that this expropriation “is not even directly linked to the construction of the station itself, but has to do with the mobility plan surrounding it”.
“We are talking about eight families, eight families who have lived in municipal housing for decades, including people over 90 years old, who have built their lives, their routines and their memories there”indicated the mayor of Alcântara.
Mentioning that the Parish Council has been warning the Urban Planning and Housing councilor, Vasco Moreira Rato (independently appointed by the PSD), about the “urgent need” for “serious, transparent and humanist” monitoring in this expropriation process, Mauro Santos reinforced that this warning was made “repeatedly”, but, “unfortunately, without any practical effect”.
“Until last Friday, the only visible presence of the Chamber was in monitoring Metro’s visits to the building, visits where residents reported having been pressured to accept compensation proposals and, more serious than that, faced with the threat of having to abandon their homes without any concrete housing solution assured”explained the socialist, arguing that “no public work, however strategic it may be, should be built at the expense of citizens’ vulnerability”.
After the topic was addressed by the media, the Chamber held meetings with residents on Monday and this Tuesday, said Mauro Santos, revealing that “they were told that they will not be relocated, that the City Hall didn’t know anything until the Court decreed the expropriation and that the City Hall has no responsibility whatsoever towards these families, that it won’t do anything and that they are left to their own devices in the discussion with the Metro”.
“The Chamber doesn’t know if it will receive one, three, five million for this building. People don’t know where they will be living in two months. Anyone who thinks this situation is comparable should not be part of a city council executive in Lisbon”he defended.
Councilor Vasco Moreira Rato confirmed that residents were received at Lisbon City Hall, but assured that what was said “has nothing to do” with what Mauro Santos reported.
Noting that the responsibility for the expropriation lies with Metrô, a public transport company that “cannot be innocent” in this process, Vasco Moreira Rato reinforced that this does not invalidate the fact that the City Hall does not provide the necessary support to the affected families, also counting on the Parish of Alcântara.
In response to questions from PCP Sofia Lisboa and PEV Cláudia Madeira deputies, the mayor highlighted that “families know that they will be protected”, reinforcing that the responsibility lies with the Metro, due to the expansion of the network, which “will be a major project in the city, the responsibility of the central government”, which will be supervised by municipal bodies.
“The Metro, unfortunately, is not a municipal responsibility. The Metro depends on the central State, but we will be here to scrutinize and demand from the central Government what is necessary. If the Government doesn’t do it, the City Council will protect it”stated Carlos Moedas.
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