“What we can’t do is privatize public companies for two purposes: to sell them off in order to get some money to pay off the holes in our accounts and because there are a number of economic groups that think they are appealing so that they can dominate the market,” Francisco César said.

The Socialist leader was speaking in Capelas, in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, at the closing of the New Future Academy, organized by PS/Açores under the theme “Training Young Leaders for a New Future for the Azores.”

The socialist said, “If this is how it’s going to be, don’t count on the PS” and “don’t take advantage of the fact that we’re in elections to move quickly and covertly towards this.”

The Government of the Azores announced on March 12 that it had commissioned a study on the best way to privatize various public entities, such as Teatro Micaelense, Atlânticoline, IROA, IAMA, Portos dos Açores and Lotaçor.

“What we’re talking about now is making decisions about the assets we have in our hands, apart from golf and SATA. Making decisions, whether it’s about extinction, transfer, sale or merger. Decisions have to be made. In order to decide, we have to have the data,” said the Secretary for Finance, Planning and Public Administration in the Azorean parliament.

Francisco César also regretted that it took the regional government four years to “come to the same conclusion” that the PS had already reached, that a proposal to revise the Autonomous Regions’ Finance Law should not be common to Madeira and the Azores.

The socialist recalled that the party had advocated internal consultation in the Azores through the regional parliament before talking to Madeira about this issue because “Madeira’s interests are not necessarily those of the Azores,” starting with the number of islands, as well as the fact that “their economy is based on tourism” when in the region it is “based on agriculture, fishing, tourism and a range of services.”

Francisco César regretted that, in the Azores, “the Regional Government has taken advantage of this moment [of national political crisis] to be able to use the fact that it is going to elections to hide the failure of its own policies” and gave the example of housing. He said this problem is transversal throughout society.

The leader reiterated that the PS “didn’t want elections, but isn’t afraid to go to elections.”

From Lusa News Agency in Açoriano Oriental Newspaper-Paula Gouveia, director

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