Agriculture Secretary Carla Alves resigned this Thursday, just 25 hours after taking office, following news that joint bills with her husband, former mayor Américo Pereira, are on hold.
“The Secretary of State for Agriculture, Carla Alves, handed in her resignation this afternoon because she understood she did not have the political and personal conditions to take office.
The resignation was promptly accepted.
Americo Pereira was elected mayor by the PS in Vinhais.
This afternoon, in Parliament during the debate on the motion of censure tabled by the Liberal Initiative, the Prime Minister, António Costa, said that there was no point in firing Carla Alves, since she herself was not accused in the trial in which her man got involved.
“Am I going to fire someone’s wife because the man is accused?” Costa said.
But soon after, the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, publicly stated that the case politically weakened the Secretary of State and the government. “It’s a negative political weight,” Marcelo said.
Less than an hour after these statements from the president, Carla Alves resigned.
As Correio da Manhã reported, the new Secretary of State for Agriculture seized several bank accounts as part of an investigation involving her husband and former mayor of Vinhais, Américo Pereira.
This is the 13th departure of the socialist government in nine months. And the fastest.
Source: DN
