“There is, objectively, a political responsibility that must be assumed,” said PS councilor Pedro Anastácio, calling for the resignation of Filipe Anacoreta Correia, who oversees Carris, and recalling that the CDS-PP mayor stated, days after the accident involving the Glória elevator, that if there was someone to assume political responsibility, it would be him and not the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas (PSD).
The derailment of the Glória elevator, managed by the municipal company Carris, occurred on September 3, resulting in 16 deaths and dozens of injuries, among Portuguese and foreigners of various nationalities.
Regardless of the resignation request from the PS, Filipe Anacoreta Correia will leave the municipal executive at the end of the current term, as he did not join the candidate lists for the local elections on October 12, which led to the re-election of Carlos Moedas.
In an extraordinary meeting of the municipal executive held today, socialist Pedro Anastácio formally requested a discussion on the Glória elevator accident, following the preliminary report by the Office of Prevention and Investigation of Aircraft and Railway Accidents (GPIAAF), released on Monday.
In this context, the PS councilor emphasized that the current board of directors of the municipal company Carris “cannot remain even one more day because, besides the failures known today that must be fully assumed, they work daily to prepare their defense in anticipated legal proceedings rather than pursuing political interest.”
Moments later, Lisbon City Hall announced in a statement that the president of Carris, Pedro de Brito Bogas, submitted his resignation, which extends to all remaining board members, and the resignation was accepted by the mayor.
The resignation does not take immediate effect, which for PS councilor Pedro Anastácio is a cause for concern, as this could mean the board remains in position “for an extended period.”
Questioning when the Carris administration will step down, Pedro Anastácio also criticized the “culture of irresponsibility” from the PSD/CDS-PP leadership in Lisbon City Hall.
Referring to information advanced on Tuesday by SIC, citing a source close to Carlos Moedas, that the Mayor of Lisbon would not reappoint the current Carris administration, the socialist highlighted that “they would never be reappointed” because the opposition would vote against.
Currently, the Carris administration is led by Pedro de Brito Bogas, with his appointment approved by Lisbon City Hall in May 2022, replacing Tiago Farias, who had held the position since 2016.
In today’s extraordinary city council meeting, PCP councilors requested further clarification on the Glória elevator tragedy, following the preliminary report, with formalized questions in a request directed at Carlos Moedas, who was absent from the session.
The PCP’s questions concern the guidelines and respective timeline for Carris to comply with the GPIAAF’s preliminary report recommendations and the status of the contractual relationship review with the maintenance service provider, as well as the progress of the internal and external audit initiated by Carris following the Glória elevator accident.
In this regard, councilors from Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition) criticized “the constant blame-shifting to hide responsibilities” and stated that, based on the GPIAAF’s preliminary report, “after all, what was repeatedly insisted that everything had been done according to the standards and everything scrupulously complied with is not true.”
“It is urgent to restore confidence in Carris, in public transport. The population using transport and mobility structures needs to know they are safe in a vehicle, to arrive home secure from maintenance failures,” advocated Cidadãos Por Lisboa.
