The Albufeira Radical festival, one of the first major initiatives of the new municipal executive led by Chega, is putting Albufeira City Council under scrutiny. At issue are contracts awarded to the company Palmas aos Palcos, owned by Jorge Costa, who would have been involved in Rui Cristina’s municipal campaign.
According to the magazine, the Albufeira City Council and the Albufeira and Olhos de Água Parish Council awarded contracts worth a total of 239 thousand euros to the same company. The event took place between April 2nd and 4th, 2026, at Praia dos Pescadores, with shows and activities related to skateboarding, cycling, surfing and other sports.
Event already existed in the municipality
The festival was not born with the current executive. It already existed in Albufeira under the name Albufeira Sea Fest, but the organization was changed after the new municipal power took over. The company chosen for the new edition, now called Albufeira Radical, belongs to Jorge Costa. According to Sábado, the businessman supported Rui Cristina in creating multimedia content during Chega’s local campaign. The magazine says that neither the city hall nor the company responded to questions about the award process.
Contract signed the day before
The first contract was signed by Albufeira City Council through a direct award, worth 157 thousand euros, for the acquisition of the Albufeira Radical event. According to Sábado, the contract was signed on April 1, the day before the festival began.
The city hall did not reduce the contract to writing, claiming that it was signed less than 20 days before the service was provided. The law allows exceptions of this type in certain situations, but the case raises doubts as it involves an annual festival, the preparation of which would require prior organization.
Junta made three more direct adjustments
In addition to the chamber’s contract, the Parish Council of Albufeira and Olhos de Água, also led by Chega, made three direct adjustments to Palmas aos Palcos for the same event. One of the contracts, worth R$57 thousand, was allocated to hiring artists and sound and light equipment. Another, worth R$12 thousand, referred to support structures for workshops. The third, worth R$13,000, focused on a climbing tower and inflatable toys.
The president of the board, Cláudio Marujo, justified the division into lots, stating that different goods and services were at stake. Unlike the chamber’s contract, these contracts were reduced to writing, although they were also signed on the eve of the festival.
Candidate hired as advisor
The case arises in a context of other hirings linked to Chega’s political universe in Albufeira. On May 14th, Rui Cristina hired Paulo Freitas as a legal and administrative advisor to Albufeira City Hall. The contract has a value of R$24 thousand and lasts one year.
Paulo Freitas was number four on Chega’s ticket to the chamber in the last municipal elections. The party elected three councilors, leaving the candidate very close to joining the municipal executive. Like Rui Cristina, Paulo Freitas has a political past in the PSD. He was president of the Albufeira Municipal Assembly between 2017 and 2021, elected by the Social Democrats.
Name mentioned in previous process
According to Sábado, which cites Correio da Manhã, Paulo Freitas was named a defendant in 2020 as part of the Emporium operation. The case involved suspicions of an exchange of influence related to land and a bar in Praia dos Tomates, which he was then operating. The available information does not indicate any definitive judicial decision in this case. Still, his hiring as an advisor now comes at a time when several of the municipal executive’s choices are being publicly analyzed.
Other appointments also raised doubts
Since taking office, Rui Cristina has nominated other names linked to Chega locally to positions in the municipal structure. Hugo Aires, the party’s municipal deputy in Albufeira, was chosen to head the Department of Municipal Projects and Buildings. Andreia Cópio, Chega’s candidate for the chamber, was appointed to lead the Water and Sanitation Division. The case that had the greatest impact in the media was the appointment of Sara Cristina, the mayor’s sister, to the position of deputy.
Public Ministry opened investigation
Sara Cristina arrived at the municipality on a mobility basis, coming from Loulé City Council, where she worked as a senior technician. He also had a political trajectory. In 2021, she was a local candidate for the PSD in Loulé, at a time when Rui Cristina was a deputy to the Assembly of the Republic and a councilor in that municipality.
The appointments were the subject of a complaint with the Public Ministry, which opened an investigation into decisions made in the municipality. On the occasion, Rui Cristina justified the changes with the need to reformulate the operating methods of Albufeira City Hall and combat the “existing inertia” in services.
Executive under scrutiny
The set of contracts and appointments increases pressure on Albufeira’s new municipal executive. At issue are awards made to a company linked to a supporter of Chega’s local campaign, contracts signed on the eve of the festival and the hiring of a former party candidate as an advisor.
For now, the case raises new questions about the criteria used in the first decisions of the executive led by Rui Cristina. According to Sábado, the municipality and those involved did not provide clarifications to the questions raised by the magazine. Until then, the Albufeira Radical festival and nominations in the municipality remain at the center of the local political debate.
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