Luís Amado, then president of the Parish Council of Vila de Frades, in the Vidigueira municipality, was the man who confronted the Government of Pedro Passos Coelho against the “Relvas Law”. The author of the parish reorganization law, carried out in 2013, it was Miguel Relvas, at the time Deputy Minister and Parliamentary Affairs.
Parliament approved the replacement of 302 parishes by disaggregation of parish unions created by the administrative reform of 2013, better known as “Relvas law”.
The Bill was voted in favor by the PSD proponents, PS, BE, PCP, Book e PAN, and also the CDS-PP. The only vote against was from the Liberal Initiative and Chega abstained.
The winner of desegregation
Died to 16 November last year, Luís Amado, former president of the Vila de Frades Parish Council, in the Vidigueira municipality, in 2012 confronted the Government of Pedro Passos Coelho against the “Relvas Law” for the merger of parishes, did not witness the desegregation of parishes.
For more than two decades he was mayor. Four as executive secretary and 12 as Chairman of the Board of Vila de Frades Parish, county Vidigueira, having accumulated one of the mandates with the deputy function of the mayor. When he died, he was president of the Vila de Frades Parish Assembly
In 2012, was a leading figure when the government of the PSD, launched the law of administrative reorganization of local authorities proceeding to the merger of parishes. Luís Amado defied the then Secretary of State, Paul Julius and told him: "If the law of 3 kilometers for the merger is approved, change the seat of the joint to the Ruins of St. Cucufate, what is the 4 kilometers, contour and to avoid melting ". This position was fraturante and the government stepped back and took the law paragraph of "kilometers from the merger".
The loser of reorganization
Miguel Relvas considers that the current process of disaggregation of the law that he created more than 10 years is a “mistake and a civilizational setback”, said,
Surprised by the PSD’s support for the reversal measure, Relvas remembers that this reverses a reform implemented by the party itself in the past. For the former minister, the process shows that the parties, including the PSD, are more interested in the prevalence of “politics” and not so much in the national interest, with smaller and more fragile municipalities being the main promoters of the creation of new parishes.
“Lisboa, Port, Cascais, Braga, the country's large municipalities will remain with the number of parishes. The little ones, the most fragile, those who have more difficulties, are the ones who will enter this process. It is once again politics taking precedence over the national interest”, says Miguel Relvas.
Teixeira Correia
(journalist)
