Former mayor and ex-deputy secretary of state for Communications, Alberto Souto (PS), current president of the Municipal Assembly Luís Souto (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM), João Moniz (BE), Miguel Gomes (IL), and Cristina Tavares (CDU) have emerged as the announced candidates for the presidency of the Aveiro city council, led by a right-wing majority for the past two decades.
Alberto Souto was the first to enter the race in January, roughly a month after publishing a book with 101 proposals for Aveiro. Since then, the retired jurist, who led Aveiro’s City Council from 1998 to 2005 under the PS, has been actively engaging in visits, meetings, and thematic sessions to present his ideas and gather opinions.
The socialist candidate has criticized Ribau Esteves’s (PSD/CDS/PPM) leadership, who has governed the municipality for 12 years, vowing to overturn several decisions of the current administration, including awarding the construction of a workshop-pavilion, which involves an investment of 22 million euros, and the construction of a planned 12-story hotel in the city.
In these elections, Alberto Souto faces his main competitor, his brother Luís Souto Miranda, the current president of the Municipal Assembly elected by the PSD. He has been chosen by the party’s president, Luís Montenegro, to lead the “Aliança Mais Aveiro” (PSD, CDS, and PPM) list, a decision that met with local disapproval, prompting the local “orange” chairman’s resignation.
The University of Aveiro professor, advocating for continuity with innovation, pledges to strengthen public housing policy by promoting controlled-cost projects alongside other support measures, aiming to transform Aveiro into a “Portuguese Silicon Valley.”
Entrepreneur Miguel Gomes, who is seeking the presidency once more on behalf of IL, after previously heading the party’s list in 2021, intends to promote “a municipal program based on administrative modernization, investment attraction to the region, and the implementation of public policies to foster economic growth and improve Aveirenses’ quality of life.”
BE puts forth João Moniz, a Municipal Assembly deputy and researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon, who promises to tackle the escalating housing prices by increasing public housing availability at controlled costs to curb the displacement of residents from the urban center and advocates for the creation of a municipal tourism tax.
The last announced candidate, Cristina Tavares, after leading the CDU (PCP/PEV coalition) list for the Aveiro electoral circle in the May legislative elections, has now accepted the challenge to join the local council race.
The textile worker has made ending toll payments on highways A17, A19, and A25 one of CDU’s main objectives, also calling for more social housing and a local accommodation licensing regime to prevent hotel construction in high residential pressure zones.
Currently, Aveiro City Council is led by social democrat Ribau Esteves, who will complete his third term and thus cannot re-run.
In the 2021 municipal elections, the PSD/CDS/PPM coalition secured six mandates, while PS/PAN obtained three. The right-wing coalition also holds a majority in the Municipal Assembly.
Aveiro, spanning 197.58 square kilometers and housing a population of 86,037, counts tourism as its primary economic activity, marking notable growth in recent years with record visitor numbers and overnight stays.
The municipal elections are scheduled for October 12.
