Local elections are always the purest expression of voting, citizen participation and the decisive principle of proximity. Lists are drawn up with people who feel and live the land and who, in most cases, are known to their neighbors. Seeing a campaign carried out in a parish is a lesson so that we don’t forget that, in the center of Polis, there has always been, in the highest place in the city, the place of meeting and discussion, of sharing and combat, of creating bridges and of knowledge: the Agora. Democracy is proximity, commitment, respect for the opinions of others. In fact, like cooperativism.
I followed the local elections with interest, particularly in Torres Vedras. Caixa Agrícola remained strictly equidistant and, on a personal and non-transferable note, I confess my friendship with the leaders of the two main lists. The result was relevant for scholars of local power, but also for commentators. It was no surprise, as it was the first time that a citizens’ movement constituted by Sérgio Galvão, attracted the PSD, CDS-PP and Volt and conquered the Municipality of Torres Vedras. And it was the first time that the PS almost against everyone lost it in almost half a century. A new cycle then opens and that is always good, there is no democracy without the possibility of Power changing hands, we must value the maturity of the people of Torriano.
An important and clear victory for Sérgio Galvão. Having said that, I wish the best of luck to the new president, in a way an outsider who reminded me, in a certain sense, of Carlos Bernardes. The two, different in personality, but radically independent and with a huge desire to leave a lasting mark on the city. What is thrown into the earth, in general, flourishes and is the root of humanity itself, it is from the humus that new life, new stories, new hopes and opportunities are born.
I also thank Laura Rodrigues for all the honesty, commitment and personal sacrifice with which she devoted herself to the local public cause. I know, and Sérgio too, how much he loves Torres Vedras, how much he wished things had gone well, how much he sacrificed. Defeats do not always mean that something was done wrong. Sometimes losing just means people are tired of the same old and same old. We have to be humble to understand it. There is no democracy without the principle of humility. And the country so needs a little modesty on the left and right. We can be humble and ambitious, there is no contradiction in terms.
Some final notes. Firstly, it is unequivocal that times have changed, here, in Europe and around the world. Each election is proof of this and history is like that, made of cycles and counter-cycles, of revolutions and counter-revolutions. I highlight the victory of the PSD, its rise in the largest, most urban and unequal cities. And sociologically, I was not indifferent to the changes in Viseu, a socialist had never won there. And in Beja, a social democrat had never dreamed of winning there. I also want to highlight the strength of the future and youth. It’s great to see a 27-year-old woman win a chamber and then that of Sobral de Monte Agraço, historically part of the PCP. Raquel Lourenço embodies the hope that there is a new generation ready to take on the game. And, last but not least, the realization that there have never been so many female mayors. There are 51, almost twenty more than four years ago. Is it enough? No, we need more. Around 15 percent is less. But this is the way,
It’s this way and the winds can’t stop it. We need women in local government offices, as happened with Laura, not because she is a woman, but because she thinks differently than the male gender.
President of the Torres Vedras Mutual Agricultural Credit Bank
manuel.guerreiro@ccamtv.pt