During a speech at the Autoeuropa factory in Palmela, following the signing ceremony of an agreement between the Government and Volkswagen, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa highlighted, before representatives of the German group, that Portugal is a nation characterized by its “particularly supportive” people, exemplified by the death of Carlos Dâmaso as a testament to this solidarity.
The head of state noted that in Portugal, in small parishes with fewer than 150 residents, “the parish council president is elected not through classic elections, but during a residents’ meeting.”
Concerning the former council president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa pointed out that four years ago, during such a residents’ meeting, Carlos Dâmaso, then serving as the president, was defeated and replaced by the current holder of the position. Both were once again candidates in the upcoming local elections on October 12.
“The fact is that they were also friends and neighbors. It happened that the current council president lent his tractor to the former president and candidate, who used it to fight the flames and protect his land and cattle,” he said.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa emphasized that it was in the course of this mission that Carlos Dâmaso lost his life, “saving the village from the flames, as well as the properties of the one who had defeated him in the last local elections, using the tractor of the current council president.”
“I believe this is an extreme example of solidarity between individuals, between Portuguese,” he remarked, linking this act of solidarity to the ceremony held today at Autoeuropa, where a joint declaration of intent between the Volkswagen group and the Portuguese Government for the production of the ID.EVERY1 electric car was signed.
The head of state asserted that Autoeuropa has reached this point “due to the solidarity between two countries,” Portugal and Germany, the Volkswagen group, the municipality of Palmela, and successive Portuguese governments, including the current one.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is scheduled to attend the funeral of Carlos Dâmaso this afternoon, which is set for 5:30 PM in Vila Franca do Deão, in the municipality of Guarda.
Carlos Dâmaso, aged 43, was the first casualty of this year’s wildfires, dying while combating the blaze that erupted in the neighboring village of Pêra do Moço and advanced towards Vila Franca do Deão.
The charred body of the agricultural entrepreneur was found late Friday morning on one of his properties near his hometown.
Carlos Dâmaso presided over the Parish Council of Vila Franca do Deão, in the municipality of Guarda, for 12 years, having been elected by the Socialist Party (PS). He was again a candidate for the local parish in the October 12 elections, this time for the PG-PELA Guarda – NC/PPM coalition, led by the current Mayor Sérgio Costa.
He was married and leaves behind an 11-year-old daughter.
