Traditionally a communist stronghold, Viana do Alentejo in the Évora district was taken by the PS from the CDU in 2009. The socialist management continued until the most recent local elections in 2021, when the PCP/PEV coalition regained control of the municipality.
This morning, the PCP secretary-general visited the town to tour the Dr. Isidoro de Sousa school, which underwent a comprehensive renovation last term. The project cost 3.6 million euros, with 1.2 million financed by the municipality. Although planned by the PS administration, it was never executed.
“It was nearly a complete overhaul: classrooms, the cafeteria, and the kitchen are entirely refurbished, along with an excellent library… It was almost 90% of the school. In the end, we realized it would have been better to demolish [the school] and start anew rather than undertake this renovation,” summarized Viana do Alentejo’s current mayor, Luís Miguel Duarte, who is running for re-election.
To journalists, the PCP secretary-general argued that this project demonstrates “the Government transferred its headaches to the municipalities but didn’t provide solutions,” referring to the transfer of responsibilities that began in 2018.
“Hence, it was necessary for the municipality, this CDU-led city council, to take the project out of the drawer where it had been for too many years under previous PS management and transform a necessity into reality,” stated Paulo Raimundo, noting that Viana do Alentejo’s case counters the narrative of CDU’s electoral decline.
“It’s important to remember that we won the Viana do Alentejo council in 2021. I know there’s a narrative that we always lose. But here we won, and we’re very confident we’ll renew, because the work is evident,” he affirmed.
In addition to the school’s renovation, Luís Miguel Duarte announced that during the last term, the council allocated 15 plots to young people, valued between 7,200 and 10,500 euros, allowing them to build their homes in Viana do Alentejo.
“This ensures at least 15 young individuals will invest here, build their homes here, and certainly remain in our municipality,” noted Luís Miguel Duarte, who intends to extend this initiative to Alcáçovas parish in the next term.
Paulo Raimundo remarked that, amid the recent prominence of housing issues, it is essential to acknowledge the initiative by this CDU-managed council.
“It is an initiative of offering plots for young people to build [homes] at symbolic prices — not 2,300-euro rents, but symbolic prices — to settle here, work, and help build a better municipality,” he said.
The PCP secretary-general asserted that Viana do Alentejo exemplifies that the CDU’s work is “serving the population,” reinforcing his confidence that the coalition will enhance its vote share in the controlled councils and win in municipalities long unreached or never held.
“Sometimes there’s a lack of awareness about the work done in each place for the people’s benefit, and our role is also to value our work. If we don’t value it, no one will,” he stated.
