The mayors of Cascais and Coimbra, Nuno Piteira Lopes (PSD) and Ana Abrunhosa (PS), respectively, will become the new vice-presidents of the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP), following the XXVII Congress of this institution, which takes place this weekend in Viana do Castelo.
As planned, the new direction of the association will be led by the social democrat Pedro Pimpão, president of Pombal Municipal Council, who was the only candidate for leadership of the association that represents Portuguese municipalities, succeeding the socialist mayor of Matosinhos, Luísa Salgueiro. The PSD thus assumes leadership of the ANMP, in a testimony that reflects the results of the last local elections.
The choices of Piteira Lopes and Ana Abrunhosa for the vice-presidency of the association also reflect the new balance of forces. The PSD now has two members in the leadership, president Pedro Pimpão and vice Nuno Piteira Lopes, while the PS is now represented by Ana Abrunhosa, former minister in António Costa’s government who won the Coimbra municipality in the last elections, which took place on October 12th. The PS was the second most voted political force, losing the leadership of the ANMP.
The fact that Cascais is represented in the association’s management has yet another symbolic weight, which is the fact that the ANMP now has a town represented in its executive body.
In turn, the ANMP general council is also now chaired by a PSD heavyweight, the mayor of Porto, Pedro Duarte.
Local Finance Law will be a top priority
The new ANMP management must maintain a firm position in negotiating with the Government to review the Local Finance Law. Pedro Pimpão has argued that local authorities should receive more funds to be able to assume the increased responsibilities that the State has been transferring to their responsibility.
“As a result of the assessment we have carried out, the municipalities have assumed expenses far beyond the resources received, as a result of decentralization”, argues the new president of ANMP in a document cited by the newspaper Eco.
To meet these chargesPimpão argues that an “annual review of the real costs of decentralization” be carried out for local authorities, which have been taking on increased responsibilities in areas such as education, culture and health.
This position follows those taken by the outgoing president of ANMP, Luísa Salgueiro.