In response to queries about potential electioneering in the decision to move the submission of the State Budget for 2026 from Friday to Thursday, Manuel Pizarro expressed that his primary concern is the document’s content.
“I am more interested in knowing the content of the State Budget. At the beginning of August, I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, challenging him to definitively address the removal of the tolls on the CREP [Porto’s Outer Regional Circular] for heavy vehicles and the peripheral tolls around Porto in the State Budget for 2026,” he stated.
During a visit to Bairro do Lagarteiro in Campanhã, the Socialist lead candidate for the Porto municipality highlighted that the tolls he aims to abolish make it cheaper for drivers to travel from Maia to Matosinhos, or vice-versa, via VCI and then return. He noted that these movements combined would reduce traffic on the VCI by 10% to 13%.
“If the budget includes this measure, I will be pleased. If not, it becomes clear that the Government does not want to resolve the VCI problem,” emphasized the candidate.
Manuel Pizarro further mentioned that “the candidate sent by the Government as a government delegate to Porto has always said the issue would be resolved,” and Thursday would reveal the truth of this assertion.
Surrounded by residents and offered campaign materials such as t-shirts, hats, pens, and information about his candidacy for the Porto City Council, Pizarro reflected on his previous tenure overseeing housing, promising further necessary actions.
“As a councilor, we conducted significant renovations in this neighborhood. Although several years have passed, the housing blocks are still in decent condition. There was also major intervention in the public space,” he recalled.
While he considers the “neighborhood quite pleasant,” he acknowledged the need for maintenance work, a commitment that will see him returning to the numerous homes along Rua do Pego Negro, “as people continue to live in poor conditions.”
Candidates for the Porto City Council include Manuel Pizarro (PS), Diana Ferreira (CDU – PCP/PEV coalition), Nuno Cardoso (Porto Primeiro – NC/PPM coalition), Pedro Duarte (PSD/CDS-PP/IL coalition), Sérgio Aires (BE), current vice-president Filipe Araújo (Fazer à Porto – independent), Guilherme Alexandre Jorge (Volt), Hélder Sousa (Livre), Miguel Corte-Real (Chega), Frederico Duarte Carvalho (ADN), Maria Amélia Costa (PTP), and Luís Tinoco Azevedo (PLS).
The current executive is composed of a majority of six elected members from Rui Moreira’s movement and one independent councilor, with the remaining members being two from the PS, two from the PSD, one from the CDU, and one from the BE.
Municipal elections are set to take place on Sunday.
