On Braga's 42nd Congress of Partido Social Democrata (PSD), which took place on 19 and 20 of October, the prime minister, Luís Montenegro, announced new measures for “the country and the future”.

While focusing “on the issues that concern everyone, with everyone in mind”, Luís Montenegro wants to “build the future” along with his party, which is “looking towards the future”, as the prime minister stated in his speech, when the seven measures were announced.

Supporting victims

Luís Montenegro announced the doubling of the support for the victims of domestic violence. According to the prime minister, the Government will “double the amount of support” to the victims, which also involves investing 25 million euros to assist the victims remotely and also providing transport to take victims to shelters safely. This measure will also allow the victims access to healthcare in the location where they were settled, for example.

Water agreement

Portugal and Spain approved “a historic agreement”, as Luís Montenegro stated. The prime minister revealed that daily flows in the Tagus River will be guaranteed, as well as the establishment of ecological flows in Guadiana. Still, within the scope of the water resources, Luís Montenegro affirmed that the Spanish farmers would pay for the use of water resources from the Alqueva dam, the biggest dam in Portugal.

Pharmacies for everyone

The health measure presented by the prime minister is related to access to medication in pharmacies. Montenegro announced that the patients’ medication will now be available in pharmacies, and not only in the hospital. This measure will allow 150,000 patients to find their drugs in their residency area, without needing to travel to a hospital, that may be “100, 200 or 300 kilometres” away from their house.

Changing the cities

Luís Montenegro is aiming to make changes to the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, to “create a vibrant and homogeneous metropolis”, for that, the Government created three different hubs to promote these changes. Therefore, it was created the Sociedade de Gestão Reabilitação e Promoção Urbana, will focus on the South and North margins of the Tagus River. According to the prime minister, this new board will redesign and organise areas such as “Arco Ribeirinho, Almada, Barreiro and Seixal”, in the Setúbal district. The Ocean Campus will be constructed between Vale do Jamor and Algés, in Lisbon and Oeiras municipality, and Montenegro also announced that the third hub will focus on the lands that will be free after the deactivation of Aeroporto Humberto Delgado.

Increasing security

The prime minister has stated that the police forces will become more “visible” on every street, as well as CCTV will be more spread throughout the country. The multi-force teams, which combine different security elements, such as GNR and PSP, “will be set up to combat violent crime, drug trafficking, illegal immigration and the trafficking and abuse of human beings”. Luís Montenegro had also assured that there would be a police reinforcement in specific neighbourhoods.

Education free from ideology

Education was the most talked about topic during the congress, but within the general public, the debate showed relevance. The prime minister announced that the Government may be reviewing the disciplinary programs at schools, namely for the subject Cidadania (Citizenship). This subject has on its curricula the teaching of sexual education, along with financial and health education, among others. Nevertheless, Luís Montenegro wants to ensure that the subject is taught without “ideological and factional ties”. Montenegro has also mentioned the new contracts between private and social sectors to “guarantee universal access to preschool education”.

Accommodating the immigrants

Luís Montenegro has stated that Lisbon and Porto will have temporary accommodation for immigrants, no matter if they arrived in Portugal illegally or are in Portugal without having their immigration cases regulated.

Unpleased deputies

Out of all parties set in the Assembly of the Republic, no one has commented positively the Luis Montenegro’s speech. While the left parties, such as Livre and Bloco de Esquerda, accused the prime minister of having an “extremist” speech, the communists (PCP) mentioned that Montenegro left the main problems out of his speech. Alexandra Leitão, from Partido Socialista, has also accused the Government of trying to bring ideology to education.

On the right, Rui Rocha from Iniciativa Liberal, said that PSD has “no idea” to help the Portuguese, and André Ventura accused the prime minister of “hypocrisy”.

Author

Deeply in love with music and with a guilty pleasure in criminal cases, Bruno G. Santos decided to study Journalism and Communication, hoping to combine both passions into writing. The journalist is also a passionate traveller who likes to write about other cultures and discover the various hidden gems from Portugal and the world. Press card: 8463. 

Bruno G. Santos