Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas announced on Monday that before deciding to run for re-election, he engaged in “personal reflection,” declaring himself a “mayor for moderates,” and emphasized that he does not “run against anyone.”
“We have a prime minister working daily to change the country with essential reforms, and that is what is important. The prime minister has always had my support,” he stated in an interview with SIC Notícias after being questioned about announcing his candidacy post-legislative elections.
Carlos Moedas shared that he underwent a process of “reflection” before declaring his candidacy. “A personal reflection concerning the next four years. Whether it is essential or not for the people of Lisbon in what we are doing to continue this.”
“I announced my candidacy just as any mayor would. I have to work and be the mayor and could not declare my candidacy many months in advance because I would stop being the mayor. Now I am a candidate, which takes time away from being the mayor,” he explained.
He also noted that he has “a commitment to the people of Lisbon for four years” and said that the candidacy is “on schedule to run by October 12.”
PS, Bloco, and Livre Coalition Aimed at “Removing the Mayor”
“I understand that there is a Left bloc (PS, Bloco de Esquerda, and Livre coalition) aiming to remove the mayor. I think it is not enough for the people of Lisbon to have a candidacy aimed merely at removing Carlos Moedas. I do not run against anyone. I run for Lisbon, for the people of Lisbon, for the work we are doing,” he stressed.
Asked if he is a consensual mayor, he described himself as “a mayor for moderates.” “Fortunately, in our Lisbon and our country, there are more moderates than radicals.”
Regarding the “Left bloc,” led by Alexandra Leitão, Moedas described it as “a bloc with the most radical parties.”
“Every 15 Days in Lisbon City Hall, I Deliver Between 30 to 40 Homes”
“We did so much in Housing. We did much more in Housing than was done in ten years. From 2010 to 2020, 17 houses were built per year in Lisbon. We delivered 2,600 keys and started helping 1,200 families,” Carlos Moedas said when confronted with remarks by his opponent, Alexandra Leitão.
The mayor highlighted “one of the biggest projects” he holds for the “future is to focus on the city” and “250 hectares within the city, areas abandoned for more than 20 years,” citing Vale de Chelas, which will have “another 2,000 homes, or Vale de Santo António, which will have “2,400 homes.”
“This year we will continue to deliver. Every 15 days at Lisbon City Hall, I hand over 30 to 40 houses. It’s a weekly calculation to anticipate how many we will deliver. We have always done this, delivering keys to people every 15 days,” he emphasized.
Referring to his re-election bid, Carlos Moedas stressed his desire to “continue doing this work,” referencing the 250 hectares where homes will be constructed.
“I believe that was the significant difference with socialist governance, which did not build houses,” remarked the Lisbon mayor, pointing out that the houses being handed over are not “inherited.”
“This is a fabrication because when I arrived, there were 2,000 abandoned houses, closed and boarded up. Of those, we rehabilitated 1,800. The Socialist Party never did this. The Socialist Party never provided this. What houses is the Socialist Party talking about? Houses that were never built?” he questioned.
Carlos Moedas reiterated that the houses delivered were “built by us, rehabilitated by us.” “I wish they could tell me which houses are on paper because if they were on paper, they were not built.”
He added that the city council assists “families in paying rents,” by covering “the difference between their income and what they have to pay in rent, preventing them from paying excessive rents.”
“There is Obviously a Housing Crisis”
During the interview, when asked if he acknowledges failing in housing for young people, one of the 12 ideas outlined in his 2021 program, Carlos Moedas was unequivocal: “No, obviously not.”
“If I am saying that I helped almost 4,000 families. Of those 4,000 families, many are young because there is no discrimination here. Among those families, there are families in great need. These are supported rents, about half of the 2,600 keys. The other half includes professionals, teachers, nurses. These are young professionals who could not afford to pay,” he responded.
Carlos Moedas further argued that as Mayor of Lisbon, what he was most able to achieve “was housing.” “There is obviously a housing crisis, which is why I invested 560 million euros.”
“Who invested what we did in Housing? Who delivered what we delivered in Housing? I understand this political struggle over what belongs to one party or another. When I arrived, nothing was done, and the crisis we have today, if only 17 houses were built per year over ten years – according to INE data – how could there not be a housing crisis if no action was taken [for ten years]?” he asserted.
The mayor added that, in four years, “one cannot solve a problem spanning 14 years.” “If there is one topic I am very comfortable with, it is Housing.”
Loures? “I Can Say What I Do in Lisbon”
When questioned about what happens in Loures and whether he would do the same as Mayor Ricardo Leão, Carlos Moedas replied, “I can say what I do in Lisbon.” “In Lisbon, whenever a shack appears, it is demolished. We do not have many shacks. Those we had, we demolished. Therefore, when there is a shack, I have to demolish it,” he mentioned.
He added, “Firstly because it’s the principle of the law. Secondly, because it’s a public health issue. We work in conjunction with Santa Casa da Misericórdia. All cases, when they arise, are demolished.”
Carlos Moedas also noted that “this is not a criticism of Ricardo Leão.” “Ricardo Leão is being used politically here, as I was when it came to the tents in the Anjos.”
“Around the Church of the Anjos, there were 56 tents, and there are political parties in this country, from the far left, that do not want this resolved. When we tried to resolve it, we faced all that ideology that does not want to solve the problems. At this moment, we have already removed 400 tents from Lisbon that existed for years,” he highlighted.
Carlos Moedas remarked that the mayor of Loures “is doing what the law requires, always finding solutions for people.”
