Bruno Mascarenhas addressed journalists on the second day of the campaign for the October 12 local elections, in the Ajuda parish, ahead of a walkabout engaging with local businesses.
“We want to make [50% of residents in social housing] owners. This is a huge paradigm shift because municipal companies, especially Gebalis, have been focusing on increasing social housing, and we want people to become homeowners,” the candidate explained.
Mascarenhas emphasized that the proposal includes a “buffer measure,” with a clause preventing resale for seven to ten years, or allowing the municipality the right of reversion.
With this paradigm shift, the candidate believes it would reduce the municipality’s costs concerning social housing, noting that maintaining the 25,000 units poses a substantial expense the municipality cannot adequately meet. In this term, he highlighted, 560 million euros were allocated.
The municipality has 25,000 housing units, with 3,000 being scattered municipal assets and 22,000 managed by the municipal company Gebalis. There are around 2,000 untapped homes—600 from the scattered assets and 1,400 from Gebalis, according to Housing Councilor Filipa Roseta.
According to Mascarenhas, joined by party vice-president Pedro Pinto and head of the Ajuda parish list, Morgana Flor, housing proposals also include building more homes “with private investment.”
The candidate recalled Carlos Moedas’s promise, the current mayor and candidate for the PSD/CDS-PP/IL coalition, to transform the Ajuda Military Hospital into an intergenerational center “which is greatly needed in the parish and the city of Lisbon,” a promise that remains unfulfilled.
When asked if Chega has a plan for the site, the candidate stated they intend to “fulfill what is currently defined,” mentioning “negotiations with the state to acquire the property.”
On urban mobility, when questioned whether the Carris, currently managed by the municipality, should be privatized or subcontracted, Mascarenhas highlighted that the issue with the transport company is “primarily managerial.” He noted the company’s network plan hasn’t been revised in 20 years, and although investment has been directed towards green energy, the vehicles “often lack the battery to complete shifts.”
Besides Chega and the PSD/CDS-PP/IL coalition candidates, other contenders for Lisbon’s City Hall in the October 12 elections include Alexandra Leitão (PS/Livre/BE/PAN), João Ferreira (CDU-PCP/PEV), Ossanda Líber (Nova Direita), José Almeida (Volt), Adelaide Ferreira (ADN), Tomaz Ponce Dentinho (PPM/PTP), and Luís Mendes (RIR).
Currently, the municipal executive comprises seven members from the “Novos Tempos” coalition – PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança, seven from the “Mais Lisboa” coalition – PS/Livre, two from CDU, and one from BE.
The 2021 elections marked Chega’s (founded in April 2019) debut in candidacies for municipal bodies, from which it did not secure executive mandates in the capital but elected three municipal deputies.
