In July, the Public Prosecutor’s Office reopened the investigation into allegations of domestic violence involving the Mayor of Vizela, Victor Hugo Salgado, toward his wife, aiming to conduct additional inquiries.
As a result of the investigation, the national branch of the PS withdrew support for Victor Hugo Salgado’s re-election candidacy. Salgado also resigned from the presidency of the PS’s Braga District Federation. In disagreement with the national decision, the Vizela branch of the socialists chose not to field a candidate for the local elections and declared support for the now-independent Victor Hugo Salgado.
Former Vila Nova de Gaia Mayor Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues (PS) had his mandate revoked by both the Porto Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court for using a municipal car for personal purposes, leading him to resign in June.
Also in the North, the Babel Operation trial has been underway since January, involving the alteration of regulations and processing of urban licensing in Vila Nova de Gaia. A key defendant is former municipal vice-president Patrocínio Azevedo (PS), who stepped down from his role following his arrest in May 2023.
In September 2024, the trial for the Vortex Operation commenced, with former Espinho mayors Miguel Reis (PS), who was arrested in January 2023, and Pinto Moreira (PSD) among the defendants. The case concerns real estate projects and urban licensing purportedly exchanged for economic benefits.
In Montalegre, former mayor Orlando Alves and former vice-mayor David Teixeira (both PS), were arrested in October 2022 during Operation Alchemy, and subsequently resigned. They are awaiting trial, facing accusations of favoring friends and family in hundreds of public tenders between 2014 and 2022.
Meanwhile, in Madeira, in January 2024, Funchal Mayor Pedro Calado (PSD/CDS-PP) resigned after being detained along with two construction businessmen in a major investigation into economic crimes, including corruption, in which the Regional Government of Madeira president, Miguel Albuquerque (PSD), has also been named. Calado was released after three weeks, with no further developments known.
In the same region, former Mayor of Ponta do Sol Rui Marques has been accused by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of misconduct, economic participation in a business, and abuse of power regarding irregularities in numerous municipal work licenses. He is again the candidate for the PSD/CDS-PP coalition in the constituency, and the case is in the instruction phase.
In April, Ricardo Rodrigues (PS), then Mayor of Vila Franca do Campo, São Miguel, Azores, was sentenced to a suspended prison term of three years and four months for misconduct and lost his mandate, as he was serving his third and final term. He was charged with granting the restaurant space at Rotunda dos Frades to his brother Luís Rodrigues. Ricardo Rodrigues resigned, replaced by Graça Melo, the PS candidate for Vila Franca do Campo.
Earlier, in Ribeira Grande, it was revealed in February that current Mayor Alexandre Gaudêncio (PSD), in his final term, will go to trial under Operation Nortada, launched in 2017, with 12 defendants accused of corruption, abuse of power, and embezzlement.
In Viseu district, in May 2023, Tabuaço Mayor Carlos Carvalho, serving his third and final term elected by the PSD/CDS-PP coalition, was suspended from office and banned from contacting the municipality amid an investigation for crimes of abuse of power, misconduct, denial of justice, and urban planning violations, which also implicates the vice-mayor and three municipal officials. Six months later, in November, the Coimbra Court of Appeal overturned the preventive measures, allowing Carlos Carvalho to resume his duties, where he currently remains.
In Tondela, José António Jesus (PSD) was re-elected in September 2021 for a third term but was condemned two months later for misappropriated public funds by receiving payments for trips made in municipal vehicles while claiming to use private ones. The Coimbra Court of Appeal reduced the suspended sentence from five years to two years and ten months but upheld the mandate loss, prompting him to resign in 2022.
In 2023, the MP charged former Mogadouro Mayor Francisco Guimarães, former Deputy Mayor Evaristo Neves, and councilwoman Joana Silva with misconduct due to violations of public procurement rules, in a case involving 14 defendants. Francisco Guimarães and Evaristo Neves currently serve as opposition councilors, elected by the PS. Francisco Guimarães is the socialist candidate for the municipality in the October election.
In February, Valongo Vice-Mayor Paulo Esteves Ferreira (PS) became a defendant for allegedly receiving benefits in the processes of implementing and licensing a McDonald’s restaurant. Paulo Esteves Ferreira retains PS support and is the party’s candidate for Valongo Mayor.
In April 2024, the Porto Court of Appeal confirmed the suspended sentence of one year and three months for Arouca Mayor Margarida Belém (PS), who is the party’s candidate for the upcoming local elections, for document forgery. The case involves the paving of a road section during the 2017 elections, ordered by then-mayor José Artur Neves, with the agreement of then-deputy mayor Margarida Belém, who succeeded him and currently leads the municipality.
In the same district, in May, the Secreto Operation trial began with 65 defendants, including Albergaria-a-Velha Mayor António Loureiro (CDS-PP), and four former mayors from Oliveira de Azeméis and Estarreja, accused of passive and active corruption, embezzlement, abuse of power, and influence peddling.
In Lisbon, as part of the Tutti Frutti process investigating alleged favors swapped between PS and PSD in the capital since 2018, the MP charged 60 defendants in February with crimes of corruption, misconduct, money laundering, and influence peddling. Among the defendants are two Lisbon city councilors, social-democrat Ângelo Pereira, who immediately requested a suspension of his mandate, and socialist Inês Drummond, who resigned.
Neither of them is listed as candidates for the October 12 local elections, nor are other mayors accused in this process, including current PSD parish presidents Luís Newton, Vasco Morgado, and Fernando Braamcamp, who were also prevented from running for re-election to their respective parishes due to term limits law.
In the Algarve, Faro Mayor Rogério Bacalhau (PSD), unable to run for re-election due to term limits, will be tried for violating urban planning rules, specifically involving the licensing of a motorhome park construction.
