“This will be a different mandate from the others, as is evident, but as I said, there will always be openness to build bridges, have dialogue, and construct what each and everyone proposed for the council,” stated Ana Rita Dias, the first woman elected as mayor of Vila Pouca de Aguiar, in the district of Vila Real.
The mayor, who took office today, expressed her belief that the “best interests of the people of Aguiar will be paramount” over the next four years.
In the October 12 elections, the PSD won in Vila Pouca de Aguiar, securing three mandates—the same number as the PS—while the Independent Aguiarense Movement (MAI) obtained one.
In the Municipal Assembly (AM), including elected members and parish presidents, the PSD has 15 deputies, the PS 11, and the MAI nine.
Following the swearing-in of both the council and assembly bodies, the election for the AM board took place, with the list proposed by the PS being elected and the PSD’s list defeated. Maria João Fernandes was elected as the president of the AM.
This vote did not surprise Ana Rita Dias, as she anticipated some connection between the two opposition forces. However, she hopes that the AM will be “a place for debate, full democracy, and not a political game to monopolize party interests for personal gains rather than those of the council.”
Ana Rita Dias recalled that some objectives proposed during the campaign are shared with other candidacies.
“I believe that, despite the less than perfect situation, there will be an awareness among individuals of what was promised to the people of Aguiar,” she asserted.
Manuel Borges Machado, elected as councilor by the PS, stated that during the next term, “there will certainly be a lot of democracy” in Vila Pouca de Aguiar.
“Three parties, three people who think differently, but who will surely unite to move Vila Pouca forward,” he emphasized.
Manuel Borges Machado assured that everything the PS undertakes over the four-year mandate, which he hopes will “reach completion,” will be “surely focused on, first and foremost, the people of Aguiar.”
José Diegas, elected by the MAI, guaranteed that this movement “will never be a blocking force” and will always stand “for Vila Pouca de Aguiar” and the interests of the council’s population.
“The MAI had an electoral program, and anytime proposals align with this program, the MAI will have no issues approving them, regardless of their political origin,” he stressed.
Regarding the AM vote, José Diegas noted that the deputies elected by the MAI had “full legitimacy” to vote for what they deemed the best proposal.
