A councilwoman from the Socialist Party (PS), Rosa Isabel Cruz, retracted her resignation request today, which she had submitted on Monday after losing a bet made by the Mayor of Coimbra during a transport debate, stated the local PS leadership.
The president of PS Coimbra, Ricardo Lino, told Lusa that the local structure believes that the Mayor of Coimbra, José Manuel Silva, “cunningly manipulated the words he said during a debate,” maintaining that the councilwoman Rosa Isabel Cruz “spoke the truth.”
As such, the local leadership maintains “political confidence in the councilwoman, and she will remain in her duties,” he emphasized.
During the executive meeting on Monday, the councilwoman accused José Manuel Silva of claiming, during a debate in the context of the municipal elections, that all parishes in the municipality were served by the Coimbra Municipal Urban Transport Services (SMTUC).
Following this, José Manuel Silva, who is running for re-election with the coalition “Juntos Somos Coimbra” (led by the PSD), challenged the councilwoman with a bet: “If I made that statement, as you said, I will immediately resign as mayor. If I did not make that statement, you will immediately resign as councilwoman.”
One can see the moment around the 1:40:00 mark.
After the councilwoman accepted the bet, an excerpt from the debate recording was played. At a point discussing mobility in the municipality, the coalition candidate led by the PS, Ana Abrunhosa, mentioned “parishes without transport,” then corrected by José Manuel Silva who stated “that there are no parishes without transport.”
“All parishes have transport,” emphasized José Manuel Silva during the debate, the recording of which was heard by Lusa, continuing immediately after about issues related to the SMTUC and the ‘metrobus’.
In the municipality, there are parishes not served by the SMTUC, but for which collective transportation is provided by SIT buses, a service of intermunicipal transport contracted by the Coimbra Intermunicipal Community.
After listening to the debate excerpt, the councilwoman declared she would submit her resignation, and even after José Manuel Silva told her she was “released from resigning,” Rosa Isabel Cruz stood by her position.
Today, in a statement, the local PS offered a new interpretation of what was said during the debate, considering it “clear” that the discussion concerned the SMTUC, despite other mobility and transport matters being addressed at that point in the debate.
For the local Socialist Party, the councilwoman “spoke the truth and demonstrated political character,” accusing the Mayor of the CMC of being “a master of populist rhetoric.”
“City council meetings should not be gambling houses to divert attention. But worse is rigging the table to win the bet through deception,” they criticized.
Questioned by Lusa about the fact that José Manuel Silva never specified which transport service he was referring to, Ricardo Lino argued that the mayor is “playing with the semantics of words.”
“That’s not being serious, and that’s what’s at stake in our view,” emphasized Ricardo Lino, noting that the fundamental issue is that several localities on the right bank of Coimbra are not served by the SMTUC, citing the example of Lamarosa and Antuzede (served by the SIT).
José Manuel Silva “manipulated words, and the councilwoman has no reason or motive to submit her resignation,” he said.
Lusa has made several attempts to contact Rosa Isabel Cruz for clarification, but with no success so far.
An official source from the Coimbra City Council stated that no resignation request from the councilwoman had been received.
Rosa Isabel Cruz is a deputy in the Assembly of the Republic and is not listed in the PS-led coalition’s slate of councilors for the municipal elections in October, but she is listed as number four on the list for the Municipal Assembly.
PS councilwoman Rosa Isabel Cruz is set to resign following a bet made by José Manuel Silva, Mayor of Coimbra, who accused her of attributing statements to him that he did not make regarding urban transport.
Lusa | 19:13 – 08/09/2025
