“We have drafted a motion of censure against this executive, which will be discussed next Tuesday. Engineer Moedas, if he wishes and does not avoid it, will be able to debate this issue with us,” stated Bruno Mascarenhas, municipal deputy and candidate for the Lisbon City Hall from the party.
During a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Lisbon, the municipal deputy called for “the clarification of responsibilities by the city council executive.”
The Lisbon Municipal Assembly, where Chega is represented by a group of three deputies, can vote on motions of censure against the City Council “to assess the actions carried out by it or any of its members,” as stipulated in the assembly’s regulations.
Earlier, party leader André Ventura had similarly argued that the Lisbon City Council is ultimately responsible, given that Carris is a publicly managed municipal company.
“It seems difficult to me, especially as it has happened before in Portugal, resulting in fatalities, that the top officeholder does not accept responsibility,” he argued.
André Ventura recalled that in 2021 Carlos Moedas demanded the resignation of the then-mayor of Lisbon, Fernando Medina, following the transmission of data related to anti-Putin protestors to Russia.
“What would Carlos Moedas, who called for Medina’s resignation for data transmission to the Russian embassy, even if it was a technical error, say to the Moedas of 2025, after 16 fatalities occurred in the city center and several injuries, whether they were technical errors or not? This question still echoes in my mind, about politicians who demand accountability constantly but, when their time comes to accept responsibility, seek to shift it away from themselves and their management,” he emphasized.
However, the Chega leader did not directly call for Moedas’s resignation, arguing that the party “has a municipal bench, and it is not the leader who should call for the resignation of mayors,” and that he did not wish “to direct Carlos Moedas.”
“This is the time to address the victims and to also support the families of those who passed away. However, turning a blind eye, pretending that no one should be accountable or no responsibility should be assigned, is a tremendous political mistake,” he defended, considering that “demanding accountability is not a political advantage.”
Ventura also expressed solidarity with the victims and their families and stressed the need “to ensure that such situations do not recur.”
“The image of Lisbon and the country cannot be affected by a tragedy of this magnitude,” he added.
The Ascensor da Glória in Lisbon derailed on Wednesday, causing 16 deaths and 23 injuries.
The government declared a national day of mourning this Thursday. Meanwhile, the Lisbon City Council declared three days of municipal mourning, from Thursday to Saturday.
The Ascensor da Glória is managed by Carris and connects the Restauradores to the São Pedro de Alcântara Garden in Bairro Alto, with a route of about 265 meters and is popular among tourists.
