The president of the Câmara de Santa Maria da Feira (Aveiro district), elected with 293 votes in favor, six white, and two null, calls for an “effective decentralization” of competencies for municipalities.
“We want a State reform carried out with effective decentralization and, obviously, with the participation of the municipalities,” stated during the closing speech of the X ASD National Congress at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP) Auditorium.
Later in his speech, he advocated for “stabilizing the framework of competencies” that the local governments wish to see decentralized.
“We must ensure adequate funding, but the State should guarantee balance and territorial cohesion, as municipalities are not all in the same territories and do not all have the same financial capacity,” he cautioned.
Amadeu Albergaria asserted that in this process, local authorities “must be demanding” with themselves “and with decentralization,” knowing when to say “no” if “conditions are not fully met.”
“Otherwise, we are bringing a problem to our populations,” he warned, advising that city councils “should not do to parishes” what they do not want “the Government to do to the municipalities,” and should include them in the overall local governance.
Amadeu Albergaria also positioned municipalities as a reference for political stability in the country.
“Municipalities have been the pillar of political stability, often when national political power faces various crises, it is the parish and council mayors who ensure that services continue,” he recalled.
The Feira leader noted that these political actors “ensure the continued application of community funds, guarantee the provision of education, the construction of Family Health Units, and the meeting of all basic population needs.”
“We cannot lose this stability in municipalities, and therefore we support cohesive and majority executives. Whoever wins should govern and do so with full stability,” he further defended.
For the new ASD leader, “a strong country needs strong municipalities.”
“A solid democracy like the one we want and will not forgo cannot be achieved without a valued local power and equally valued local mayors,” he emphasized.
Amadeu Albergaria also called for a review of “the local finance law” and the Public Contracts Code (CCP), “based on the principle of trust” in local leaders.
He further urged the fight against the “State bureaucracy that causes local leaders to wait months for intermediary powers.”
