“We will emerge from the parliamentary sessions invigorated for a budget debate based on another model of growth and territorial development. This is our work during two days, visiting all the municipalities of Tâmega and Sousa in four different districts,” stated the PS parliamentary leader, Eurico Brilhante Dias, to journalists.
These sessions, based in Penafiel, focus on growth and territorial cohesion. The socialist leader explained that this would be a good opportunity for the PS to prepare the debate on the State Budget for 2026 (OE2026), which is to be voted on in general next week in the Assembly of the Republic.
“To show the country that, with the PS, development, growth, and cohesion would be different and that, despite our abstention, this budget does not reflect the PS’s vision of the country’s development,” he said.
PS leader José Luís Carneiro will attend his first sessions since becoming the socialist secretary-general and will deliver a closing speech on Tuesday, along with making three visits on Monday.
According to Eurico Brilhante Dias, the PS chose the Tâmega and Sousa intermunicipal community as the location for “political reasons,” but also “to give a clear signal” regarding the socialist perspective on the country’s development.
“Tâmega and Sousa is a region very close to the Porto Metropolitan Area, a region with significant population density, but currently, according to the latest statistics, it has some of the lowest income indices in the country,” he noted.
As a territory “below the national average not only in income but also in education,” the PS leader believed this region “needs focused and special attention for another development model to achieve growth and cohesion.”
“This Government has not allowed the country to return to that growth rate [of PS governments]. The budget margin is running out, and the approach to territories, especially those needing more effort to grow and create opportunities, has been, over the last years of PSD-CDS governance, ineffective or nonexistent in many circumstances and has not allowed for greater territorial cohesion,” he criticized.
The PS wants to signal that “territorial cohesion is a fundamental tool also for growth.” Therefore, in addition to visits, there will be “panels for reflection and policy construction.”
On Monday, the deputies will be divided into five groups, each visiting different municipalities to visit schools, companies, healthcare units, technology centers, and tourist spaces, including a planned train trip.
On Monday afternoon, there will be a panel on “Public Services and Territories” featuring Eurico Brilhante Dias, the president of the PS/Porto federation, Nuno Araújo, and contributions from Augusto Santos Silva on education, Margarida Tavares on health, and Pedro Cerqueira Gomes.
On the first evening, a dinner is planned with the mayor of Vigo, Abel Caballero.
On Tuesday, before the closing, PS deputies will participate in a panel on “Economy, Infrastructure, and Territorial Development,” which will include names such as Elisa Ferreira.
