“Our main goal in publishing the book is not to attack anyone, not to launch a political attack. The goal is for people to realize that there are things that were not done and that, until we all speak, things will remain the same. Ultimately, the aim is to empower people to understand that the power lies with them,” summarized Ivo Francisco in statements to Lusa.
Written collaboratively, “Municipalities — Inclusion in Governance,” published less than a month before the local elections on October 12, analyzes the gap between local political decision-making and the needs of people with disabilities and the elderly in Amarante, highlighting barriers to inclusion and proposing solutions.
“My wife is a person with a disability, and I am her caregiver, so we experience all the difficulties described in the book daily. That was the first reason [for writing it]. And then, due to a long history we have, especially my wife, of activism in the city. She was the president of the Amarante delegation of the Portuguese Disabled Association, so she has always been very connected to social activism,” he explained.
According to the author, the quality of life for people with disabilities has worsened over the last 12 years, something he attributes to “the lack of empathy from the political class on the issue.”
“[There is] a lack of sensitivity because, as we say in the book, since 1982, when we started receiving [European] funds, practically none have been channeled to these minorities. Particularly in recent years, funds are largely aimed at social convergence, that is, improving the quality of life for people, notably here in smaller areas,” he recalled.
However, those funds are later spent on things that local governments “consider priorities” but leave “people’s quality of life” as “secondary,” he argued.
In the book, Rosa Lemos and Ivo Francisco, who share their difficulties on a Facebook page bearing both their names, expose situations that they believe “most of the population has no idea about.”
“During the Portugal2020 program, 26.5 million euros came to Amarante from European funds, and there is not a single project clearly and solely intended to support people with disabilities,” he illustrated.
When questioned by Lusa on whether the lack of concrete measures aimed at people with disabilities at the local level could be due to their low voting turnout during elections, Ivo Francisco considered that this “could be a reason.”
“We often comment that people with disabilities should get more involved, but I also think it might be related to the fact that the population is increasingly aging,” he argued.
