The Socialist Party accuses Carlos Moedas of keeping him in office illegally the head of the general secretariat, Alberto Laplaine Guimarães – arrested on suspicion of favoritism in contracts under the protocol between the municipality and the Union of Commerce and Services Associations for Christmas lighting, within the scope of operation Lúmen.
Alberto Laplaine Guimarães was appointed general secretary of the Lisbon City Council in 2011 and has worked in the municipality since 1995, being a member of the CDS-PP, but with broad cross-party support, including from the PS.
However, according to the law that came into force in 2012, the position could only be held for ten years. The PS councilors’ office argues with paragraph 4 of article 11 which establishes that “the duration of the service commission and its renewal cannot exceed, overall, ten consecutive years.”
António Laplaine Guimarães entered the service commission regime for three years, in 2011, even before the new law (which does not have retroactive effects). Therefore, only from 2014 onwards would this same period count.
As such, in addition to the suspicion arising from the investigation into operation Lúmen, Alexandra Leitão recalls that it would not be legally possible for Laplaine to continue in the position and that a competition should even be open for his replacement, which, she says, has not yet been presented at the City Council.
“There should not even be a question of possible replacement of functions here, regardless of what is concluded [na investigação]because her situation was illegal”, said the former candidate for Lisbon mayor in a meeting with journalists, at which DN was present.
In that same article it can be read that “1st grade senior management positions are promoted by deliberation of the City Council”, adding that there is “no need to resort to a competitive procedure.”
“He didn’t need to take his name for reappointment, but the legality ended in 2024. He shouldn’t be in office anymore”, adds the socialist, recognizing that the choice is entirely Carlos Moedas’ responsibility.
“There has to be a political responsibility for seeing the most important leader in the hierarchy detained and yet Carlos Moedas understands that he should not give explanations to the people of Lisbon”, attacks the former socialist minister.
Responsibilities that are made worse by the fact that the powers of the general secretariat itself are not delegated to any councilor, adds the socialist, who remembers that the general secretariat is just below the presidency in the hierarchy in the Chamber.
The PS remembers that, at the time of Russiagate, the PSD asked Fernando Medina for political responsibilities – when personal data of protesters against Vladimir Putin were handed over to the Russian embassy in Lisbon, coming from the general secretariat. Although, in the capital, Christmas lights are not contracted directly by the city hall, the money comes from the municipality to the Union of Commerce and Services Associations.
“The mandate is starting very badly for Carlos Moedas”, comments the former candidate, recalling the cases of approval of the regulations, the appointment of Mafalda Livermore, from Chega, for Social Serviceshowever already exonerated after an RTP investigation, adding that “there is still a lack of explanations” regarding the “Elevador da Glória and more concrete responses to aid for those affected” by this tragedy.
As DN reported, Carlos Moedas opened an investigation with the municipality’s general secretariat to investigate possible irregularities in the protocol with the Union of Commerce and Services Associations, as part of operation Lúmen, which has already carried out searches in ten municipalities and four detainees in Lisbon. In the order, he promised coordination with the Secretariat for Transparency and Prevention of Corruption, non-compliance and/or irregularity.
Alexandra Leitão, however, raises doubts regarding the “monitoring” and “real action” of this department and the PS This Friday, it presents a request seeking to know whether due diligence was carried out for competitive processes to select the company responsible for lighting, whether there is monitoring of the execution of the protocol and what is being done to investigate the facts that occurred at the general secretariat.
Alexandra Leitão will also question whether there were any complaints regarding the secretary general or the chamber body itself and whether the Transparency Department implemented any measures to prevent these situations, including the failure to launch the competition for the position of general secretary. The deadline for responding to requests is ten days.
It was not possible to obtain a reaction from the municipality regarding these criticisms in a timely manner. In a private meeting with councilors this week, Carlos Moedas did not appear to give justifications.
Leitão sees Chega’s position in Culture
The changes were made public within a week in Cultura. Carlos Moedas’ executive made it known that he will not reappoint the direction of Teatro do Bairro Alto, directed by Francisco Frazão, nor that of the Museu do Aljube, directed by Rita Rato. Moedas rejected the idea of political sanitation, he even recalled having appointed a former communist councilor, Rui Lopo, to Carris. But Alexandra Leitão asks that there be “reports and evaluations” and that “decisions not be made based on taste”, stressing that replacement decisions should be made “by competition.”
Recalling that Chega, in the Municipal Assembly, said that “Culture is to be politically directed”, the socialist says it is “obvious” that there are influences from the party “that most criticized artistic freedoms” and that “has voted in favor of the coalition’s proposals.”
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