Housing and mobility are taken care of by opposition councilors in Lisbon – Observer
Opposition housing councilors in the Lisbon Chamber are concerned about the governance of Carlos Moedas (PSD) in responding to the problems and challenges that the city faces in areas such as health, mobility and combating climate change.
“Lisbon, before Moedas, was a progressive city, which led in public policies for housing, mobility, environmental solutions, support for the economy, health, support for the most disadvantaged, and now it is a city that is losing its way, losing acceptance and leaving backwards from Lisbon”, says many PS councilor Inês Drummond.
Speaking to the Lusa agency, regarding the first 100 days of the current Lisbon executive, a socialist points out the municipality’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic as setbacks, including in testing and in the trade and restaurant support program, in which “no alternative to the existing programs is known”; the disinvestment in public housing policy, “with the public suspension of the plan to build 1,000 affordable homes in Marvila and another 4,000 in Restelo”; and a 75% reduction in investment in the maintenance of houses in urban neighborhoods, from eight to two million euros.
“Carlos Moedas, in fact, thinks that the housing problem is solved by charging taxes for young people to buy houses at 250 thousand euros”, says Inês Drummond, considering that the PSD mayor “does not know the social reality of Lisbon”, “reason that insists, for example, on the deregulation of local accommodation in the city, opposing the suspension of new licenses”.
A councilor recalled that “one in 10 houses in the city are already in local accommodation, so there is a time when you have to say ‘enough is enough’”, reiterating the idea that the president “is not at all interested” in promoting public policies that help current youth and regulate the market.
The socialist also points “contradictory but worrying signs in the mobility of the city”, referring to the light surface metro that connects Alcântara, Ajuda and Restelo to Algés and Linda-a-Velha, and after Santa Apolónia, Beato, Marvila and Parque das Nações to Loures, that the works that were being developed for decision making, nor for any decision making, which can be done for any of the most relevant public transport axes and with impact to take measurements of cars in the city.
Inês Drummond adds that, in the inauguration speech, Moedas said that he created and assumed the responsibility for the Energy and Climate Transition, which did not happen, because “he is more concerned with the Unicorn Factories and with the Reformulation of the programs that already exist, but in a newer version Light, as is the case of Hub Criativo do Beato, which will now be called Fábrica de Unicórnios; This is the case of Lisboa Protege, which is now Recuperar+”.
“They are Reformulation, but in a substitute version and with lower quality, so this is what we dislike in politics, but are Carlos Moedas’ political options and which we seek to combat“, it says. Despite the differences, the feasibility of the 2022 budget, stability with abstention, is possible, because in the proposal “there are no violent principles”, the founding principles of the PS and also “as a matter of democratic principle and protection of management in the management of the which is violent “autarchy”.
PS councilors in Lisbon City Council will abstain to make municipal budget viable
From the PCP, councilor Ana Jara argues that, “contrary to what was announced, there are no new times for Lisbon”, because the Great Options of the Plan for 2022-2026 “does not correspond to the problems of the city” and the first measure presented by the PSD/CDS-PP governance was to “restrict access to housing in the access programs to Affordable Income”, so that they would pass to be fired only in the city, a proposal rejected with votes against from all opposition residents.
About the first 100 days of the current governance, Ana Jara criticizes the vision of “a city almost circumscribed to an administrative frontier”, which is reflected in the business idea regarding health, competition and the construction of large city-scale competition companies, which has to do with regional economic city-scale companies and inequalities between cities and capitals, and that accentuate differences between Lisbon and the rest of the country”.
For the PCP, it is essential to think about the development of Lisbon at the scale of the metropolitan area, including the study of the tourist load to rethink the sector’s development model, with the construction of more promotion housing, which “is not present in the speech or in the plans that are presented by PSD/CDS”.
Ana Ja Jair Opposition to the reinforcement plan for people promised, by more than 6 contracts of private health insurance, as well as the health of the years to the return of 3% of the Personal Income Tax ) — proposal that was made possible with the PS abstention — because “it gives up revenue of over 42 million euros”, returned “mostly to the highest income people”, who are “1% of the richest families in the country”. This revenue should be invested in social policies, including housing, to respond to social inequalities and the great challenges of property, he says.
PCP in Lisbon Chamber votes against municipal budget for having “onerous” measures
From the perspective of BE councilor Beatriz Gomes Dias, the first 100 days of PSD/CDS-PP governance were marked by “various problems in the management of the city of a council that is relatively stagnant, which has not brought any innovation and dynamics to the management of the city itself”, since the advance of measures is related to the promotion of car traffic, with a 50% discount on parking for residents in Lisbon , and with the return of IRS for those who already have higher incomes.
Other problems in the city during the first period, according to Beatriz Gomes, were the cuts in the city’s problems to change the problems, an attempt to change the rules of the Accessible Income Program, the abandonment of the Reduced E Zones (ZER) in the financing of associations that are the means of mobility animation and promotion of support for homeless people.
The first 100 days, understand, revelations “a more chaotic city governance, People-centered, which was one of the dimensions that candidate Carlos Moedas brought to the campaign, but that President Carlos Moedas has not done”.
For the councilor of Livre, Rui Tavares, this period is marked by “a difficulty in reconciling promises with choices”, from the very beginning “return taxes to the richest Lisboners” and by promising to make investments in areas such as housing “without explaining that the resources for one thing have to come from the other side”, a situation that was illustrated with “a failure in the accounts” of the budget.
Another of Rui Tavares’ criticisms is due to an idea of wanting to fight climate change, which benefits the use of the individual car, through the reduction of the price of parking, a “wrong choice” and that favors the Hall of the automobile the long-term interests of the city.
Independent councilor Paula Marques (elected by the PS/Livre coalition) reinforces that she is against the idea of “closing the city” through the proposal to change the criteria in the Affordable Income applications, as she considers that the answer to the high demand “ more public housing”.
Paula Marques This is still the proposal for the return of RS, because “retribution is given to people who have earned the most, without repercussions that have less conditions, and without municipal revenue”, as well as incentives for public investment in the sector and the directing of public resources. , namely in health, education and housing”.
In the mandatory 2021-2025), the municipal executive of Lisbon, which took office on October 18 and complied with Tuesday, January 25, 100 days of exercise, is composed of seven elected by the “Novos Tempos” coalition (three from the PSD , two from CDS-PP and two independent), which are the only ones with assigned roles, seven by the “Mais Lisboa” coalition (five from PS, one from Livre and one independent), two PCP/PEV dating (both from PCP) and one from BE.