During a campaign event marking one month before the local elections, the lead candidate for the coalition ‘O Porto somos nós’ declared that if elected president, only those who come “willing to integrate and respect laws, social norms, and way of life” will be welcomed.
“Do not think that you can come to Porto expecting us to adapt to your way of life. No. Whoever wants to come to Porto has to adapt to our way of life, our values, our principles,” stated Pedro Duarte, emphasizing that “respect for women” is non-negotiable.
He continued: “We defend gender equality. Women in Porto are not less than men of Porto. Everyone needs to understand that. We want to welcome those who wish to integrate and those who must adapt to our social norms.”
Despite the demands raised, the candidate promises to approach immigration issues with “humanism,” stressing that his candidacy respects “the dignity of everyone.”
Without naming the PS candidate, Pedro Duarte also spoke of “two visions of the city in conflict,” urging voters to “distinguish between the old and the new, between worn-out ideas and fresh, innovative, modern ideas.”
“On one side, we have a vision of socialism characterized by chaos and waste. It is a vision that supports open-door policies for immigration without control or rigor. It advocates for a dense, overcrowded city as it is today,” he said.
Addressing the figures, Pedro Duarte referenced the promise made by socialist Manuel Pizarro to build five thousand affordable homes to tackle the housing shortage, presenting his calculations for that electoral promise.
“According to our calculations, it amounts to 900 million euros [Manuel Pizarro accounted this investment at 600 million euros],” he stated, adding that he does not understand “where these additional houses will be built.”
He concluded that socialist proposals support “more chaos, more confusion, more noise, more pollution, more cars.”
Running for the Porto City Council are Manuel Pizarro (PS), Diana Ferreira (CDU – PCP/PEV coalition), Nuno Cardoso (Porto Primeiro – NC/PPM coalition), Pedro Duarte (PSD/IL/CDS-PP), Sérgio Aires (BE), current vice-president Filipe Araújo (independent movement), Guilherme Alexandre Jorge (Volt), Hélder Sousa (Livre), Miguel Corte-Real (Chega), Frederico Duarte Carvalho (ADN), Maria Amélia Costa (PTP), and Luís Tinoco Azevedo (Social Liberal Party).
The current executive consists of a majority of six elected from Rui Moreira’s movement and one independent councilor, with the remaining two elected from PS, two from PSD, one from CDU, and one from BE.
The local elections are scheduled for October 12.
