Rodrigo Antunes / Lusa
Carlos Coins
Production and promotion of the book was involved in advisors paid by the municipality, use of public equipment and inclusion of photographs belonging to the Lisbon City Council Archive.
The mayor of Lisbon Carlos Coins is being accused of using the autarchy’s technical and human means in producing and promoting his personal book, denounces the magazine this Tuesday.
The book, “Leading with People”, has exclusive copyright to the Mayor of Lisbon, but the promotion and production of related contents was the direct involvement of advisers paid by the municipality, Use of public facilities and inclusion of photographs belonging to the Lisbon City Council Archive (CML).
The Sabbath investigation reveals that two advisers hired for institutional communication – both with bounds of over 2,800 euros per month – performed functions related to the promotion of the personal book of the mayor. The team, consisting of several communication professionals, produced videos in the president’s office and released in personal networks and the publisher.
The coin book was released in Lisbon (Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation), in Porto (with Rui Moreira as a host) and Braga (with Ricardo Rio). On all occasions, photographic and video coverage had municipal teams or advisors linked to the Lisbon mayor.
In the case of Porto, Rui Moreira’s office confirmed that the coverage was ensured by the Municipal Communication Department, as with other events of a public nature. Identic situation occurred in Braga, where the Chamber provided space and technical means. In Lisbon, Gulbenkian, the production of images was in charge of advisor João Aguiar, according to testimonies collected by Saturday.
But the involvement of the local structure was not limited to the communication team. António Valle, then chief coin cabinet, assumed to have coordinated the editorial projectaccompanying production phases and compiling documents that would join the work.
In addition, 25 photographs of the Lisbon Chamber estate are in the book. The images were captured by photographers hired by the municipality, are part of the Municipal Archive and, according to the rules in force, can only be assigned to free communication for informative purposes. For commercial uses, such as the publication of a book with personal copyright, formal authorization and the payment of fees would be required. João Aguiar and Alberto Frias are two Photographers that served the municipality and will have seen their creations are used for the personal benefit of Carlos Coins, without formal authorization.
The magazine also points out that Rui Moreira also launched a personal book while mayor of Porto, but on very different bases. The promotional video was recorded at home, with a personal mobile phone, without technical support from the Porto City Council; And the launch took place at the Almeida Garrett Library, a public space provided at the request of the publisher and unanimously approved at a municipal executive meeting.
The other side of the coin
Faced with criticism, the office of the mayor of Lisbon justified that the book was designed to account for the citizens, thus framing in a common practice among European mayors. It is also argued that the use of official photographs reflects the activity of the president in the exercise of duties, being an integral part of the balance of the mandate.
However, it does not respond whether or not there was formal authorization to use images of the Municipal Archive for the benefit of a personal book, whether the involvement of advisers paid by the municipality to promote a commercial project constitutes misuse of public resources or if the line between institutional communication and personal self -promotion has been exceeded.
