“What I can say is that I always felt the support of Rui Moreira. I am proud to have been chosen by him as a councilor and to have been appointed as his vice-president for the past eight years. I must thank him for this trust, and I am grateful to him,” reiterated Filipe Araújo today, who assured that they had worked “together” and that he felt this support “intimately.”
On the penultimate day of the municipal campaign, the independent candidate assessed the last few days and assured that “there is great recognition for the work done” and for the fact that the city council was led by independents.
The current vice-president of the municipality again dismissed the notion of bipartisanship in Porto, considering that “for 12 years the people of Porto have realized that having an independent movement project—with the freedom and independence it is known for—is something that brings them benefits and has provided them with a better city.”
Regarding the possibility of being a crucial factor in breaking a deadlock if the PS and the PSD/CDS-PP/IL coalition elect the same number of councilors, Filipe Araújo did not respond directly, stating it is necessary to wait and see “what will happen after October 12.”
“What I feel on the streets in these last days is very clear: I think many people have not yet decided whom they will vote for,” he shared, confident that “people will not want to go back to the past [when the city was governed by parties].”
Filipe Araújo was speaking with Lusa during a visit to the Prelada Residential Blocks Residents’ Association Center, where he presented association representatives with a set of possible solutions to some problems they were presenting to the candidate.
Before this, the independent candidate visited two health centers in the city, proposing to create a Local Public Health Office to “coordinate” with these spaces, which came under the city’s management following the decentralization of responsibilities.
Filipe mentioned that the area is “very heterogeneous” in terms of health care.
“The health issue in the city of Porto, despite us having only 42 kilometers, should not be treated the same way throughout the territory. There is sometimes a prevalence of diseases in certain areas where we can work with the health center on screenings. In other areas, we can work on different topics that medical teams consider more important,” he said to justify the importance of creating an office.
Candidates for Porto City Hall include Manuel Pizarro (PS), Diana Ferreira (CDU – Coalition PCP/PEV), Nuno Cardoso (Porto Primeiro – Coalition NC/PPM), Pedro Duarte (Coalition PSD/CDS-PP/IL), Sérgio Aires (BE), current vice-president Filipe Araújo (Fazer à Porto – Independent), Guilherme Alexandre Jorge (Volt), Hélder Sousa (Livre), Miguel Corte-Real (Chega), Frederico Duarte Carvalho (ADN), Maria Amélia Costa (PTP), and Luís Tinoco Azevedo (PLS).
The current executive includes a majority of six elected members from Rui Moreira’s movement and one independent councilor, with the remaining two elected from the PS, two from the PSD, one from the CDU, and one from the BE.
The municipal elections are set to take place on Sunday.
