“I do not have a goal of bringing more people to Porto, let it be clear. Those who are from Porto and those who are children of Porto have the right to live in the city and, therefore, should have the conditions for that, but I want, at the same time, to attract more young people because it is important for the city’s economic dynamics,” he stated.
Pedro Duarte, speaking to journalists during a visit to the Ribeira zone of Porto, also pointed out measures aimed at young students, particularly in terms of student accommodation, as well as public policies directed at young couples.
“And here we have, namely, those 1,600 houses, which will perhaps equate to five thousand people, but it is a natural renewal that must exist within the city,” he emphasized.
Pedro Duarte considered that “more people living in the city are not necessary,” contrary to the socialist candidate “who defends that Porto should have 100,000 more people.”
“And, in this regard, I wish to make an appeal: it is very important to know the electoral program of the Socialist Party. We are three days before the end of the campaign, and we do not know the PS’s electoral program, which is something I have never seen in democracy,” he criticized.
According to Pedro Duarte, Manuel Pizarro presented “a PowerPoint on housing, a PowerPoint on education, and I believe a PowerPoint on culture, but there is no electoral program. The health area, the social cohesion area, the environment area, sustainability, climate change, education, sports, or youth are unknown.”
“I have never seen in democracy someone running for election without presenting an electoral program. And, therefore, we have reasons to believe that there is a hidden program. There is a hidden program of the Socialist Party,” he stressed.
The social-democratic candidate believes that the PS “does not want accounts to be made or what it would mean for the city’s accounts to implement that program.”
“From the few examples given, such as housing, for example, our accounts say it will cost more than one billion euros, but the PS says it costs 840 million. If an evaluation is done with the experts, no one would say it costs only that,” he stated.
He added, “The Socialist Party itself assumes that the investment will be paid over 30 years, putting at risk what are the city’s accounts, indebting Porto’s citizens today for 30 years. This is a delusion, an incredible spending spree.”
“According to him [Pizarro], it resolves the housing problems in Porto, but I think not. We have 20,000 empty houses, and therefore, we do not need 5,000 more houses built. I admit it may be an excellent deal for some, but obviously, Porto does not need more of that,” he stressed.
What the city needs is “green spaces, playgrounds, gardens, wider sidewalks, we need a different lifestyle and quality of life for people,” he advocated.
Running for the Porto City Council are Manuel Pizarro (PS), Diana Ferreira (CDU – PCP/PEV coalition), Nuno Cardoso (Porto Primeiro – NC/PPM coalition), Pedro Duarte (PSD/CDS-PP/IL coalition), Sérgio Aires (BE), current vice-president Filipe Araújo (Fazer à Porto – independent), Guilherme Alexandre Jorge (Volt), Hélder Sousa (Livre), Miguel Corte-Real (Chega), Frederico Duarte Carvalho (ADN), Maria Amélia Costa (PTP), and Luís Tinoco Azevedo (PLS).
The current executive is composed of a majority of six elected members from Rui Moreira’s movement and an independent councilor, with the remaining two elected from the PS, two from the PSD, one from the CDU, and one from the BE.
Local elections will be held on Sunday.
