The mayor of Figueira da Foz, Pedro Santana Lopes, and the president of the Parish Council of Ferreira-a-Nova, Susana Monteiro, engaged in an exchange on social media this Saturday.
The dispute centered on the fact that the mayor was not invited to the reopening of a swimming pool in the socialist parish, while, according to him, candidates from the Socialist Party (PS) for local elections were. However, the president of the council assured that no “specific and official invitations” were made to any entity/party.
Ferreira-a-Nova is one of the 14 parishes in the municipality of Figueira da Foz.
“I just learned that yesterday was the reopening of the Ferreira-a-Nova Pool, built in a previous term (guess whose),” Santana Lopes stated on Facebook, referring to one of the several pools inaugurated during his first term between 1998 and 2001. According to the Figueira da Foz president, the pool underwent renovations, including a floor replacement “also paid by the City Council.”
“The pool is municipal. The president of the council, Susana Monteiro, from the Socialist Party, neither invited nor informed me and invited and informed her party’s candidates for the local elections,” denounced Santana Lopes, who is running again for the presidency of Figueira da Foz with the support of the Social Democratic Party (PSD).
In this regard, the mayor mentioned that he called the socialist Susana Monteiro to express his “deep dissatisfaction” with the lack of invitation, having been told that it was because he did not attend the parish day.
“Imagine. I was there last year. And, even if I hadn’t been, a mayor doesn’t have to attend every ceremony. And should be invited,” remarked the president of Figueira da Foz, describing the situation as “regrettable.”
Council president asserts no “specific and official invitations” were made
In response, Susana Monteiro, president of the council with about two thousand inhabitants, defended on the same social media platform that the event “had nothing to do with the works” carried out in the pool and that no “specific and official invitations” were made to any entity/party.
“Respect, education, impartiality, and cordiality with everyone have always been my focus in performing the duties of president of the Parish Council of Ferreira-a-Nova and will be until the last day of my term, always defending the superior interests of the population,” she stated.
Susana Monteiro, in her second term, expressed surprise at receiving a call from the mayor of Figueira da Foz, Pedro Santana Lopes, stating it was the “third or fourth in four years” of his term. According to the socialist council president, the call “was abruptly and rudely interrupted” by the mayor himself.
She further explained that the “celebration in question” at the Municipal Pool of Ferreira-a-Nova “had nothing to do with the renovations,” as it was a “traditional opening party of the swimming season, which this year took place two weeks later than usual” due to the renovations.
“It’s a fact that no official invitation was issued, primarily because it was not an inauguration, just as it has never been done for the opening parties of previous years and terms, but apparently, this year, as we are in a year of local elections, the situation seems to have assumed greater importance and concern for the mayor,” Susana Monteiro declared in a statement also shared on Facebook.
The council president emphasized that the pool opening party “is already a hallmark of the parish,” highlighting that those who thought it appropriate to attend, from various political backgrounds, were present without any specific and official invitations being made to any entity/party.
It is worth noting that Pedro Santana Lopes won the local elections of Figueira da Foz in 2021, running as an independent with the ‘Figueira A Primeira’ (FAP) movement.
The former prime minister has announced his candidacy for the presidency of the Figueira da Foz council, scheduled for October 12, this time with the support of the Social Democratic Party (PSD).
In the last local elections in 2021, Santana Lopes ran for the Figueira da Foz Council as an independent with the ‘Figueira A Primeira’ (FAP) movement.
Márcia Guímaro Rodrigues | 07:31 – 30/01/2025
