The Left Bloc’s Marisa Matias joined Alexandra Leitão in a rally through Benfica parish, showcasing BE’s commitment to a “joint effort to free the city” from Carlos Moedas, the current mayor and candidate in the October 12 election for the “Por ti, Lisboa” coalition (PSD, CDS-PP, and IL).
“The Bloc believes that (…) the best person for the job is Alexandra Leitão,” as she “has the competence, experience, profile, and empathy” required, emphasized Marisa Matias.
“BE has previously held councilor positions during Fernando Medina’s [former socialist mayor] tenure, and the city management did not suffer from it; quite the opposite,” highlighted Alexandra Leitão, who noted during Thursday night’s debate among Lisbon’s candidates, Carlos Moedas’s “obsession” with including BE in the coalition he leads.
“These obsessions, things repeated many times, as clearly advised by some ‘marketeer’, might be repeated often but are not true. This is a coalition of four parties, led by me, a balanced coalition,” she stressed.
Responding to Carlos Moedas’s grievances about the opposition faced in his current term, Marisa Matias remarked that the current mayor “always tends to center everything on himself, always playing the victim of some situation.”
Instead of an “exercise in victimization,” she argued, the city needs a mayor who “takes leadership and works together with all political forces.”
Carlos Moedas has been a mayor “always more concerned with protecting his own image than protecting Lisbon and its residents,” criticized Marisa Matias, highlighting “several issues,” from urban hygiene to housing, “where Carlos Moedas had not even a minimal intervention.”
Regarding a potential post-election governance agreement with the CDU (whose candidate is João Ferreira), Marisa Matias noted that “there is a possibility, and it is real, to defeat (…) Carlos Moedas,” and this possibility is the “Viver Lisboa” coalition, comprising PS, Livre, BE, and PAN.
Competing in Lisbon’s upcoming municipal elections are Carlos Moedas (PSD/CDS-PP/IL), Alexandra Leitão (PS/Livre/BE/PAN), João Ferreira (CDU-PCP/PEV), Bruno Mascarenhas (Chega), Ossanda Líber (Nova Direita), José Almeida (Volt), Adelaide Ferreira (ADN), Tomaz Ponce Dentinho (PPM/PTP), and Luís Mendes (RIR).
