“I think it is prudent to wait for the conclusions of the investigations, the assessments, to know exactly what happened, understanding the causes to prevent future tragedies. Investigations must reach conclusions. In this first preliminary report, I have seen some details, but they are not yet sufficient to draw objective conclusions, and the report itself states exactly that,” said Mariana Leitão.
In Póvoa de Varzim, in the Porto district, where she is participating in a five-kilometer walk organized by the IL of the Vale do Ave, Mariana Leitão rejected “political exploitation” of the elevator accident at Glória, which derailed on Wednesday, causing 16 deaths and over 20 injuries.
“We should have common sense in these matters, wait for the conclusions of the investigations and then, yes, draw conclusions, take positions, and obviously demand accountability from those who have to be accountable,” she insisted.
When asked if she fears that this call for “prudence” might be linked to the municipal elections, given that the IL is running for the Lisbon City Council in coalition with the PSD and CDS-PP, Mariana Leitão was direct: “Not at all. This is exactly because we do not know what caused the accident, we do not know what political decisions may or may not have contributed to this accident.”
Further questioned about the statements of former PS leader Pedro Nuno Santos, who on Saturday called for the resignation of the current Lisbon council president, Carlos Moedas, the IL leader reiterated that the current time is one of “sorrow, solidarity, and prudence.”
“The current facts are not sufficient, we do not know exactly what caused the accident, nor do we know what issues may have led to this accident, whether political, technical, maintenance, or whatever, and thus we should wait,” she said.
The Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Aircraft and Railway Accidents (GPIAAF) revealed in a report on Saturday that the cable linking the two cabins of the Glória elevator “gave way at its point of fixation” from the carriage that derailed.
Mariana Leitão told reporters today that she has read the report, but “not in its entirety,” noting that it is a “preliminary report that does not allow drawing major conclusions.”
“And the report itself states that,” she noted, repeating that the investigation “should take the necessary time” and “everyone should respect that.”
“We like to work based on facts, on concrete data, on specific information. Right now we don’t have them, and therefore any inference, any idea, or any position that is drawn without facts is premature, counterproductive, and that is not the way of the Liberal Initiative,” she concluded.
The Glória elevator is managed by Carris, connects the Restauradores to the Jardim de São Pedro de Alcântara in Bairro Alto, along a 276-meter route, and is much sought after by tourists.
