Vasco Cordeiro sees a lack of confidence in the government

The President of the PS/Azores, Vasco Cordeiro, says there is a lack of confidence in the Regional Government.
Vasco Cordeiro was speaking as part of the PS/São Miguel Island Commission, which took place in Vila Franca do Campo, when he said there was a “disillusionment and loss of confidence among Azoreans in the capacity of the PSD/CDS-PP/PPM Regional Government.”
He said that there are many concerns expressed by the Azoreans, starting with education, where the “lack of teachers, operational assistants and distribution of computer equipment” shows an apparent lack of confidence.
“There is a total lack of awareness on the part of the Regional Government about the tragedy that many families are experiencing and the fact that there are many schools in our region that are unable to function regularly,” said the Socialist.
He also regrets the executive’s silence on the necessary works. “The government is carrying out and completing work that was planned, launched and started by the PS regional government,” he said, citing the case of the Arrifes School.
Vasco Cordeiro says that the government doesn’t have the capacity to “plan and give a sense of the future in terms of improving our schools,” examples of which are the school in Lagoa and the school in Povoação.


In health, the Socialist leader warned of the channeling of resources to the private sector, with the executive not being able to “strengthen the Regional Health Service,” where, according to the latest figures, “the debt to suppliers and the debts of the region’s three hospitals are worsening.”
For Vasco Cordeiro, it is essential to safeguard the SRS because he believes that we cannot have “a health service for the rich and a health service for the poor.”
He took the opportunity to talk about his housing concerns.
“The CreditHab program isn’t working,” he pointed out, noting that the money the government said it would invest “has only managed to put 170,000 euros into operation”, helping only 175 Azorean families out of around 1,800.
In response to the lack of places in nurseries, she calls for new solutions to be created.
“The government responds to this issue with free nursery places, but forgets to say that it is the government of the Republic that is paying for all the free nursery places in the Azores,” said the PS/Azores leader.
The party’s proposal for this measure to cover the region’s kindergartens “was rejected by the absolute majority that this government has in Parliament.”


As for the availability of nursing homes, Cordeiro believes that they should not be limited to the “New Elderly” program but should go ahead with constructing and improving spaces on the various islands.
He ended his speech by drawing attention to the growing social indicators, pointing out that “the Azores are falling behind, not only in terms of families but also in terms of companies.”

in Diário Insular, Angra – José Lourenço, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance)  at California State University, Fresno.