“This meeting of the political committee was essentially to approve the [candidates] list for the Assembly of the Republic,” stated the Madeiran socialist leader, Paulo Cafôfo, following the assembly held at the party’s headquarters in Funchal.
Cafôfo noted that “the vast majority of militants present voted for the PS [Madeira] list,” which is led by Emanuel Câmara, with Sofia Canha in second place, followed by Gonçalo Jardim, Patrícia Agrela, Nilson Jardim, and Catarina Nuna.
“Our lead candidate is the best choice for the party, as he embodies the party itself, tirelessly fighting to defend the people’s best interests,” highlighted the PS/Madeira leader.
Paulo Cafôfo added that Emanuel Câmara, who is currently serving his third and final term as mayor of Porto Moniz in northern Madeira, will complete his duties before taking his seat in the Assembly of the Republic.
“Emanuel has a political path that speaks for itself, and I know no one who defends his land better than Emanuel Câmara,” he complemented.
Asked about his political future, Paulo Cafôfo reaffirmed that he will assume “with all honor” his position in the Regional Assembly and will “lead the party in two very important electoral processes,” namely the national legislative and local elections.
“Internal processes only after the electoral processes,” he emphasized, highlighting that the party “will be concentrated, focused, and mobilized for the challenges ahead, which are difficult given the national and regional context,” he insisted.
In the early regional elections held last Sunday, the PS lost three deputies, leaving them with a parliamentary group of eight members, and they lost the position of main opposition party, which is now occupied by JPP with 11 elected representatives.
Regarding the formation of the new Regional Government (PSD/CDS) announced on Friday, Cafôfo opined that “it began with some errors in people choices, not because of the individuals themselves, but because of the offices and regional secretariats they will occupy and lead.”
“And it also has an aspect that is not positive, trying to resolve some internal issues of the party in some secretariats,” he indicated, mentioning that it is “a government with more waste, as it has more secretariats to accommodate and host positions for both CDS and PSD.”
The XVI Regional Government of Madeira is comprised of eight regional secretariats, one more than the previous government.
In the view of the PS/Madeira leader, the Regional Government, led by the social democrat Miguel Albuquerque after the elections last Sunday, in which the PSD elected 23 deputies and secured an absolute majority by forming an agreement with the elected CDS-PP member, has “clear errors in assigning people to positions.”
For Paulo Cafôfo, the appointed Health Secretary, Micaela Freitas, who headed the Institute of Social Security, “is not known to have any opinion on health.”
“And her trajectory does not foretell anything good because precise accounting is clearly not her strong suit. In fact, the Social Security accounts are not reliable, as pointed out by the Court of Auditors,” he added.
In the case of the Inclusion, Labor, and Youth Secretariat, to be headed by Paula Margarido, the socialist leader considers her to be “someone who is unaware of the reality, believes that there is no poverty in Madeira,” and once said that in the region “there is a poverty of mind, as she thinks poverty does not exist and is a consequence of drug addiction and alcoholism.”
Regarding the Agriculture and Fisheries Secretariat, now the responsibility of deputy Nuno Maciel, Cafôfo notes that it resolves “the succession issue of the leadership of the Calheta council.”
For the socialist leader, it is also “inappropriate” that the Environment portfolio is “wedged between Tourism and Culture.”
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