The former Secretary-General of the PS, Ferro Rodrigues, expressed his outrage today over statements made by the Mayor of Lisbon regarding the resignation of Minister Jorge Coelho following the collapse of the Entre-os-Rios bridge in 2001.
“As a friend and successor of Jorge Coelho in the Ministry of Social Equipment, I express my indignation over Carlos Moedas’ lies,” Ferro Rodrigues stated to the Lusa agency.
On Sunday, during an interview with SIC about the causes of the fatal accident with the Elevador da Glória in Lisbon, Carlos Moedas was confronted with the example of the late socialist Jorge Coelho, who resigned from his position as Minister of Social Equipment following the Entre-os-Rios bridge collapse in the Douro River in 2001.
Carlos Moedas refused the comparison, stating that Jorge Coelho’s office had received information indicating the bridge’s fragility before the accident, whereas, in his case, there was no warning regarding the Elevador da Glória.
“Political responsibility is when a politician knows and doesn’t act,” explained the Mayor of Lisbon.
However, according to Ferro Rodrigues, “Jorge Coelho had no information that could indicate what happened,” and Carlos Moedas “lied.”
“Otherwise, obviously, he would have prohibited access to the bridge during that terrible storm,” he added, before issuing a warning.
“I won’t say more because I don’t want to contribute to those trying to divert attention to the Entre-os-Rios bridge collapse, where all inquiries were conducted and published,” he concluded.
Following the Entre-os-Rios bridge collapse, among other investigations, the Assembly of the Republic established an inquiry commission that produced a report months later, approved without any votes against. The document received votes from PS, PSD, PCP, and CDS, with abstentions from PEV and the Left Bloc.
In the aftermath of the inquiries, among other events, the then-president of the Douro Navigability Institute (IND), Mário Fernandes, resigned. The IND was held responsible for the bridge collapse as the body licensing and supervising sand extraction in the Douro River’s navigable channel.
