The coordinator of ANAFRE’s Azores delegation, Manuel António Soares, argued that the legal framework governing the organization and functioning of local authorities and the associated financial regime needs to be reviewed. Manuel António Soares advocated a change “to provide local authorities with more financial resources to enable them to better develop their territories.”

“The central government cannot be afraid of decentralization. The next legislative term, which begins with the election of members of the Assembly of the Republic in the elections on May 18, should be marked by this legislative and political change,” he said. The coordinator of the ANAFRE delegation was speaking at the 10th Regional Meeting of Parish Mayors, which took place last weekend in Santa Cruz da Graciosa.

He stated that “in the Azores, regional authorities must view local authorities as true partners in regional development, which requires, even without changing those legal regimes, a change in the way they relate to parish councils, simplification of procedures, and a clear fight against excessive bureaucracy, which often kills good political options.”

He also took a European perspective. “At a time when the European Union is discussing the multiannual financial framework, parish mayors, through ANAFRE, must take a position on the European Union’s major budgetary choices. This is not a distant issue to which parishes can remain indifferent,” he stressed at the close of the regional meeting.

In Diário Insular-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 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.