Former presidential candidate Ana Gomes commented on Sunday about the ongoing battle against wildfires, expressing concern about the “recurrence” of a scene in flames in Pedrógão Grande.
“I was one of the people who yesterday [Saturday] became very worried when I saw this happening again in Pedrógão. And the inhabitants realized that everything was worse: the eucalyptus trees, the disordered pines, the firefighters’ commanders saying that the SIRESP was not working,” she remarked during her commentary on SIC Notícias.
“The issue here is really about organization, authority, the State’s ability to make what it planned work. Now the prime minister comes with a 25-year plan; I think that’s just throwing sand in our eyes. Because we already have many plans. We already know everything that needs to be done,” she argued.
Confronted with the changing leaderships over the years, the socialist retorted: “The people leading the institutions change; then the new ones are uninformed. And I’m not just talking about the ministers of Internal Administration chosen by Luís Montenegro, but about all the other structures.”
The former MEP stated that not only is “coordination” not ensured, particularly regarding prevention measures like land cleaning, which should be done in winter, but she also criticized the coordination with local authorities: “Delegating responsibilities to municipalities—which is already happening—but then not providing them with resources… Even the OECD recently stated that Portugal does not provide the most needed municipalities with the means to replace private individuals in land cleaning. I’m talking about resources, human, etc.”
Amid this situation, Ana Gomes noted an “inability to implement plans into practice, although there are many good and competent people who have already done a lot. Everything went backward with this Government. Everything worsened.”
The socialist went ‘further’ and beyond criticizing the government, she targeted its leader: “Some people talk about the prime minister’s cynicism. I don’t think it’s a problem of cynicism, I think it is calculism. Bad calculism, namely, that refusal to timely call the European Civil Protection Mechanism to prevent fires from gaining the magnitude they achieved quickly.”
Regarding the victims, Ana Gomes lamented the four deaths. “August hasn’t ended yet, there is still September, and October,” she stated, recalling 2017, which had the most devastating and fatal fires in both June and October.
“We need to understand that the impact of climate change is also a factor, and this is a matter of survival, of intervening, and intervening promptly. Supporting the neediest populations and the State fulfilling its responsibilities,” she pointed out.
It’s noteworthy that on Monday, more than 40 municipalities in the districts of Vila Real, Bragança, Viseu, Guarda, Castelo Branco, and Santarém are at maximum fire risk, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere.
The minimum temperatures will vary between 15 degrees Celsius (in Viana do Castelo, Braga, and Évora) and 18 (in Aveiro, Portalegre, Lisbon, and Faro), with maximum temperatures ranging from 24 (in Aveiro) to 35 (in Évora and Bragança).
