“Housing is one of our main priorities for Matosinhos because it is one of the most expensive municipalities in the country,” noted the former head of the parliamentary group of the BE.
After going door-to-door, the BE candidate mentioned that many people want to live in Matosinhos but cannot afford it, as a two-bedroom apartment exceeds 300,000 euros, which is unaffordable for the middle class.
The BE candidate emphasized that much of the construction in Matosinhos, located in the district of Porto, caters to luxury real estate.
Recalling that Matosinhos is the municipality with the most cooperative housing units due to investments made 40 years ago, Pedro Filipe Soares advocated for a new cooperative policy.
The BE member pointed out that cooperatives currently face difficulties in accessing bank credit, leading him to propose that the municipality, led by Socialist Luísa Salgueiro, create a municipal public guarantee to help reduce financing costs.
This measure would ensure that cooperatives can proceed from paper to construction, providing housing for residents, he added.
Additionally, the BE candidate emphasized the importance of “bringing vacant buildings” into the housing market.
He argued that the municipality should identify and penalize owners while encouraging them to make these buildings available for rent.
Pedro Filipe Soares disclosed that Matosinhos has nearly 7,000 identified vacant units.
Moreover, the BE candidate argued that much of the new construction in Matosinhos is luxury housing because the city council is not using its legal authority to require a percentage of new developments to be affordable.
“We propose that 25% of new construction be placed on the market at affordable prices, making it a municipal requirement for construction authorization,” he emphasized.
Competing for the Matosinhos City Council are the current mayor, Luísa Salgueiro, from the PS; lawyer Bruno Pereira from the Democratic Alliance (AD – PSD/CDS-PP coalition); CDU councilor José Pedro Rodrigues; former socialist and independent councilor António Parada; from Chega, former BE parliamentary group leader Pedro Filipe Soares; Filipe Garcia from the IL; Diana Sá from Livre; Vasco Martins from ADN; and Hugo Alexandre Trindade from PAN.
The current executive is composed of seven elected from the PS, one from the PSD, one independent, one from the António Parada Sim! movement, and one from the CDU.
The municipal elections will be held on October 12.
