Ana Mendes Godinho, 53, former minister, is running for the presidency of Sintra’s Municipal Council with the PS/Livre coalition, accompanied by former socialist mayor João Soares for the municipal assembly.
During the candidacy announcement, attended by Socialist Party Secretary General José Luís Carneiro and Livre spokesperson Rui Tavares, Godinho expressed gratitude to Basílio Horta for the opportunity to continue the “work accomplished over 12 years” under PS’s leadership.
“The municipality of Sintra is rich in history, and more importantly, in life stories. Today’s challenges in Sintra cannot be addressed with populist solutions and proclamations that fit into a 30-second TikTok video,” stated the former Minister of Labor, Solidarity, and Social Security.
The priorities include housing, promising “10,000 housing units at affordable prices and rents” by 2030, a network of “an additional 6,000 free nursery slots, community childcare spaces,” an increase in “preschool slots,” and the removal of tolls on the A16 (CREL-Cascais) for residents, workers, and local businesses, potentially costing 18 million euros.
Former center-right councilor Marco Almeida, 55, is running for the council for the third time, supported by PSD and Iniciativa Liberal, with Fernando Seara for the municipal assembly, under whom he served as vice-president for three terms.
In 2013, he headed the independent movement “Sintrenses com Marco Almeida,” opposing PSD, was elected councilor, and ended his social-democrat membership. However, in 2017, he led the ticket again as an independent within the coalition “Juntos pelos Sintrenses,” comprising PSD, CDS-PP, PPM, and MPT, but lost to Basílio Horta.
As the official announcement is awaited, Marco Almeida will not receive support from CDS-PP due to the PSD-IL coalition, with councilor Maurício Rodrigues, 54, announcing his candidacy for the centrists.
The lawyer explained in a statement that the municipality deserves to “free itself from a personal project ongoing for over 16 years—sometimes alone, at other times with parties or undefined coalitions—which keeps repeating the same messages as if the municipality were stuck in time.”
Councilor Pedro Ventura, 48, is running again for the CDU, aiming to “strengthen” the vote for the PCP/PEV coalition recognizing previous work while focusing on urban revitalization, housing, and cleanliness.
In the candidacy launch in Rio de Mouro, alongside PCP Secretary General Paulo Raimundo, Ventura regretted that “all political forces, except CDU, have passively accepted” the “central administration’s responsibilities in various areas, including education, social action, and even housing.”
Ventura cited the “68-million-euro investment in the Sintra Proximity Hospital, which has not yet begun operation, a true embarrassment,” completed a year ago by the municipality and handed to the government, a task he argues “should clearly belong to the central administration.”
MP Rita Matias, 26, will represent Chega in Sintra, where the party was the most voted in the anticipatory legislative elections on May 18, followed by PSD/CDS-PP and PS.
The candidate, who coordinates the youth of the far-right party, follows Nuno Afonso, head of the list in the last local elections in 2021, who left the party in 2023 and became an independent councilor.
Under the slogan “Sintra on track,” the candidacy advocated on Facebook for “decent housing with real solutions for those who live and work in the municipality” and “safety with more protected streets and effective responses for citizens.”
The BE local committee approved the candidacy of doctor and union leader Tânia Russo, 44, for the municipal council and nurse and researcher André Beja, 47, for the municipal assembly. This proposal is expected to be ratified in the coming days by the party’s district and national bodies.
The 2025 local program will “focus on strengthening solidarity policies that promote inclusion and liberty as an alternative to the politics of hate and neo-fascism,” according to a local committee source.
The Sintra Municipal Executive, led by Basílio Horta for three terms and unable to run again, includes five from PS, three from PSD, one from CDS-PP, one from CDU, and one independent (former Chega).
Sintra comprises 319.23 square kilometers and houses 400,947 residents according to 2024 data from Pordata and based on INE statistics.
Local elections will be held on October 12.
