The Secretary-General of the Socialist Party (PS), José Luís Carneiro, expressed regret on Monday over comments made by Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas regarding Jorge Coelho, labeling them a “lie,” but stated there are no “elements that justify” requesting Moedas’ resignation concerning the derailment of the Elevador da Glória.
“I do not find – as of yet – any elements that would justify calling for the resignation of the Mayor of Lisbon,” he stated to CNN Portugal.
José Luís Carneiro lamented the “insulting language” used by Carlos Moedas, stating that “calling people hitmen is to call them hired assassins,” referring to Moedas accusing the PS of being “insidious” and “cynical,” by having a candidate for the mayoralty who does not directly call for his resignation, but then “designates all his hitmen and supporters to attack from behind.”
The socialist leader also addressed comments about the former Minister of Public Works, Jorge Coelho, accusing the Lisbon Mayor of “lying.”
“As grave as this insulting language and even more severe from a moral standpoint, is bringing up someone who, unfortunately, is no longer with us, with a lie about the reasons that led Jorge Coelho to resign at the time of the Entre-os-Rios bridge disaster,” he stated.
In Carneiro’s view, Moedas’ statements “indicate a serious problem of conscience and consistency.”
The issue at hand is Moedas’ refusal to resign following the derailment of the Elevador da Glória last Wednesday and his rejection of comparisons with socialist Jorge Coelho, who resigned as minister after the Entre-os-Rios bridge disaster in 2001.
The Lisbon mayor asserted, also in an interview with SIC on Sunday, that the two cases are not comparable because Jorge Coelho’s office had received information pointing to the fragility of the bridge before the disaster, whereas in his case, no such warning was received about the Elevador da Glória.
Carlos Moedas has refused to resign following the derailment of the Elevador da Glória and rejected comparisons with Jorge Coelho, the socialist minister who resigned after the fall of the Entre-os-Rios bridge.
Márcia Guímaro Rodrigues with Lusa | 19:21 – 08/09/2025
It should be noted that the Elevador da Glória, located in the center of Lisbon, derailed at 18:04 on Wednesday on Calçada da Glória. The accident resulted in 16 fatalities and over 20 injuries.
On Friday, the Judiciary Police confirmed that “the nationalities of the 16 fatal victims” of the accident have been “scientifically identified, with the collaboration of the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences.”
Among the deceased are five Portuguese, two South Koreans, one Swiss, three British, two Canadians, one Ukrainian, one American, and one French national.
