Eight of the ten people responsible for the local coordination groups of the Liberal Initiative in the Aveiro district sent a letter to the Executive Committee, led by Rui Rocha, demanding that it provide “formal justifications” for the choice of head. from the list by that circle in the coming legislation. The point is that the economist Mário Amorim Lopes, a liberal deputy in the Porto City Council, has, in the opinion of the signatories of the document, no connection whatsoever with the circle in which he will seek to be elected to the City Council meeting . the Republic.
The letter was responded to on Wednesday by the Executive Committee, informing that a meeting will be held with the party structures in the Aveiro district by the end of the year for the formal presentation of the candidate and the discussion of the objectives and strategies in the district. the election campaign. One of the signatories of the document assured DN that there are no reasons why it would not be possible to work with the candidate, emphasizing that the main objections of the Aveiro leaders are related to the way the process was carried out .
The four-page letter, which DN had access to, calls Mário Amorim Lopes an “alien candidate for the district” and Aveiro’s liberal leaders protest the way his name was presented to the National Council on Saturday. a “centralized decision, which is contrary to the concept of nuclear autonomy”, due to the refusal of Carlos Martins, councilor in Santa Maria da Feira, who had been nominated by local structures as head of the list for Aveiro. In addition to his “public recognition” as party mayor, they highlighted his “enviable CV”, “regional recognition” and “suitability and capacity to take on the role of deputy”.
Saying that they were surprised “by the announcement that the list for Aveiro would be headed by a member who does not serve in any core of the district, was not born in or resides in the district and has no connection to the members of the district, nor does he participate in IL activities in the district,” the eight subscribers of the letter to the Rui Rocha team did not mince their words. “The situation represents a total disregard for the processes and for those who work locally so that IL’s message of merit reaches our fellow citizens in the Aveiro district. The choice of a member who is not a district activist is an insult to the members of the district (for advocating the apparent unpreparedness of one of its members to represent the party in the Assembly of the Republic) and an insult to the citizens of the Aveiro district, who will hardly feel represented by an officer who is foreign to their district.
From Porto to Aveiro
Mário Amorim Lopes, councilor in Porto, elected on the lists of Rui Moreira (who has the support of IL), is a member of the Executive Committee, elected at the January convention, where Rui Rocha defeated Carla Castro in the race to succeed Cotrim Figueiredo. His inclusion on the party lists in a potentially eligible position was considered very likely within the party, but on the Porto list. However, the current deputies, Carlos Guimarães Pinto and Patrícia Gilvaz, remained in the first two places in this circle, with third place going to Albino Ramos, coordinator in the municipality of Porto.
Although the Liberals failed to elect a replacement for Aveiro in the 2022 parliamentary elections, when the list was headed by current National Councilor Cristiano Santos – one of 11 who voted against the Executive Committee’s sole proposal for candidate names, without the presence of Carla Castro, and with Mariana Leitão and Angélique da Teresa in eligible positions for Lisbon – the 4.47% achieved was the sixth best result in percentage terms. The letter highlights that they were above 4.33% in Braga, where Rui Rocha was elected deputy – and is now seeking re-election.
Source: DN
