“The Minister of Infrastructure resigns from his role overseeing the Porto Metro. What is preventing the Minister from acting? This accountability void, admitted by the official, seems to be a strategy arising from the municipal elections, contrary to his own statements,” said independent candidate and current deputy mayor Filipe Araújo in a statement sent to Lusa.
On Tuesday, at an event in Maia, Miguel Pinto Luz told journalists that he would maintain “democratic hygiene” and not “interfere” in the metrobus topic, emphasizing that the Government does not wish to “influence” the public debate, noting that it “is not influenced by municipal elections.”
Filipe Araújo argued that the Government appears to be influenced by the municipal elections and that “the metrobus issue has nothing to do with politics.”
“The question I pose to the Minister is whether the buses have arrived. If they have, why are they not in operation and how does he explain that to the people of Porto?” questioned Filipe Araújo, who also asked about the start date for the metrobus.
The operation of the metrobus is contingent, among other things, on a four-party memorandum of understanding between the State, the City of Porto, Metro do Porto, and Sociedade de Transportes Coletivos do Porto (STCP), which has not yet been signed.
On July 14, the mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, stated that he would no longer “waste time” with the metrobus and would leave that matter to the next administration.
Miguel Pinto Luz, on Tuesday, accused Rui Moreira of taking “an absolutely radical public stance, preventing certain advancements.”
From the Government’s perspective, Miguel Pinto Luz mentioned the need “to conduct an evaluation” and “pause, but not for long, because this is something to be executed, and at the right time, make a final decision.”
Running for Porto City Hall are Manuel Pizarro (PS), Diana Ferreira (CDU — coalition PCP/PEV), Nuno Cardoso (Porto Primeiro – coalition NC/PPM), Pedro Duarte (PSD/IL/CDS-PP), Sérgio Aires (BE), current deputy mayor Filipe Araújo (independent movement), Guilherme Alexandre Jorge (Volt), Hélder Sousa (Livre), Miguel Corte-Real (Chega), Frederico Duarte Carvalho (ADN), Maria Amélia Costa (PTP) and Luís Tinoco Azevedo (Social Liberal Party).
António Araújo, who also ran for Porto as an independent, saw his candidacy rejected on Friday due to a lack of signatures and awaits the outcome of the appeal he filed with the Constitutional Court.
The current administration comprises a majority of six elected officials from Rui Moreira’s movement and one independent councilor, with the remaining two elected from PS, two from PSD, one from CDU, and one from BE.
The municipal elections are scheduled for October 12.
