Estela Silva / LUSA
Pedro Duarte during his inauguration as president of Porto City Council
Jorge Sobrado, elected by the PS list, will be an (independent) councilor for Culture. Pizarro didn’t like the news.
In the municipal elections on October 12th, Pedro Duarte got the best of Porto and was elected president of the City Council. But the coalition he led (PDS/CDS-PP/IL) was left with the same mandates as the PS. There were 6 for each political force.
On the day of the inauguration, a last-minute surprise: Pedro Duarte went to the PS list to guarantee the majority in the Chamber.
The new president decided to hand over the responsibility of Culture a Jorge Sobradoelected by the PS list and who will become an independent councilor.
The invitation addressed to the person elected by the PS, fourth on the list headed by Manuel Pizarro, was accepted and he will remain on the executive.
To Lusa, Pedro Duarte explained that he had listened to the city’s cultural community “in numerous meetings, formal and informal, throughout the electoral campaign and after his election”, and had been “sensitive” to their “appeals” that Sobrado would be the best person for this portfolio.
The new mayor of Porto, who in August guaranteed that he himself would be responsible for the Culture departmentsaid that he has always recognized Jorge Sobrado “as one of the most suitable names to lead this department”, adding that “he brings together all the characteristics of personality and experience to honor the continuity of the cultural revitalization of the city of Porto”.
For the president, the choice of Jorge Sobrado “represents the valorization of competence, experience and service to the city above any party affiliation”.
Jorge Sobrado, graduated in Communication Sciences, was director of the Porto Museum and Libraries between December 2022 and February 2024, a position he left to assume the vice-presidency of the Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR-N) where you will leave office next week; and will not be replaced in the position.
Manuel Pizarro didn’t like it of this news: “I understand that the signal that the people of Porto gave with their vote was to choose who governed the chamber and to choose who should oppose it. From this point of view, I consider that the position that Jorge Sobrado took is a wrong position, which misinterprets the signal that the voters of Porto gave”, he reacted, in Lusa.
The risk of tourism and real estate
Upon taking office, Pedro Duarte stated as his aim “rethink the economic development model” of the city, warning of the excessive dependence on tourism and real estate.
“We will have to rethink our economic development model. A city that relies too heavily on tourism and real estate risks becoming a hostage to its own success“, he said in his inauguration speech, in a ceremony at the Monastery of São Bento da Vitória.
For Pedro Duarte, Porto needs to reinforce its “productive base and to bet on tradable goods and services“, by “diversifying, consolidating the knowledge economy, valuing creative industries, attracting innovative companies and protecting local commerce, which sustains the city’s cohesion”.
In the initial part of his speech, he had already identified that “Porto has grown, but with growth also came new pains: the pressure on housing, insecurity, limitations on mobility, the inequalities that persist”.
Listing five points essential, Pedro Duarte guaranteed that he will govern with a focus on “solving people’s real problems”, will choose to act “based on dialogue, listening and consensus”, will maintain “Porto’s legacy of correct accounts and responsible management”, will govern with “proximity” being “on the streets and in the neighborhoods”, and still exercising power “with courage”, without depending on “private interests” and “with boldness towards the old people of Restelo and with detachment towards the status quo’”.
Martha Massada (PSD/CDS-PP/IL) was elected president of the Municipal Assembly (AM) of Porto, with 26 votes in favor, one blank vote and 18 votes for Pedro Braga de Carvalho, from the list presented by the PS.
