The PS candidate for Angra do Heroísmo City Council, Fátima Amorim, wants to start a “new phase” in the municipality, with “greater proximity, participation, and resolution of the community’s concerns.”

“We present ourselves with the conviction that much work has been done, but also that there is still much to do. To this end, we have strong, motivated, resilient teams with realistic, solid projects, knowledge of the terrain and proximity to their local communities, with the capacity to mobilize and ready to act,” she said at the presentation of her candidacy on Wednesday at the Sociedade Recreativa de São Bento.

Fátima Amorim, who has been a councilor for the last four years, takes the lead in the socialist candidacy for the Angra do Heroísmo City Council, with members of the current city council, Guido Teles and Paulo Lima, in second and third place. A 60-year-old agricultural engineer, the candidate was regional director for Agriculture and Rural Development between 2004 and 2016 and has been president of Grater since 2021. Barred from running for re-election to the council because he is serving his third term, the current mayor, Álamo Meneses, heads the PS list for the Municipal Assembly.

When presenting the lists, Fátima Amorim paid tribute to the socialist mayor. “His intelligence, insight, firmness in decision-making, persistence, leadership, but above all his closeness to the people and the communities, make him an example of how to do politics, real politics,” she said. With the slogan “Angra grows and moves forward,” the candidate promises to focus on access to housing, especially for young couples. “We want to create more conditions for people to settle in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, particularly young people, and support the middle class, with dignity and quality of life. Housing policy is much more than social housing,” she said.

Among other measures, Fátima Amorim proposes to continue supporting children and young people in their education and higher education and to promote projects that combat the isolation of the elderly. She also proposes to “improve urban public transport by expanding coverage areas” and to improve the mobility system. “We will create more parking solutions, namely with the completion of the municipal market,” she stressed.

The candidate intends to “strengthen support for the business community, promoting entrepreneurship and creating new mechanisms to encourage local investment” and continue to strengthen the promotion of tourism in the municipality. She also promises to care for and enhance the tangible and intangible heritage and keep the culture alive and inclusive. Fátima Amorim is committed to continuing to invest in improving municipal roads, modernizing and improving the efficiency of urban solid waste management, and renovating water distribution networks.

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.