The mayor of Porto says poverty is a problem that can be solved with policies to combat social exclusion, which require more support from the State to be implemented.
Porto Mayor Rui Moreira said Thursday that funding from EU funds is “a unique opportunity to tackle the problem” of poverty and social exclusion, which, he argued, cannot be solved with assistance or charity.
In the welcome session of the meeting of the Metropolitan Areas of Lisbon and Porto, Rui Moreira highlighted the role of community funds to “attack the problem of poverty and exclusion” at the metropolitan level.
“A problem that cannot be solved with assistance or charity. Yes, it can be solved with active social inclusion policies“, considered the mayor, in the meeting that took place at the Super Bock Arena – Pavilhão Rosa Mota.
For Rui Moreira, policies are necessary in the areas of social mobility, education, training, access to housing, public services, entrepreneurship, creativity, the promotion of healthy lifestyles, the fight against info-exclusion and the development of digital skills.
Considering that poverty and social exclusion are “complex and multidimensional phenomena”, Rui Moreira said that their resolution requires a “reflective approach”, in which municipalities play “an absolutely central role” in this matter.
Risk of poverty increased in 2023 and affected 60 thousand more people
The Mayor of Porto also said he agreed with the Mayor of Lisbon “when he defends a local social state”.
“The phenomenon of poverty and social exclusion has ramifications and consequences that go beyond the borders between neighboring municipalities,” he stated, stating that It is up to the municipalities to define strategies. that reconcile interests and projects in the field of social cohesion.
Rui Moreira defended, however, that “more capabilities and financial resources of the State” are needed for municipalities to be “effective in protecting the most vulnerable.”
Recalling that metropolitan areas hide “the greatest phenomena of exclusion”, from school dropouts to domestic violence and the integration of immigrants, Rui Moreira hopes that the meeting will serve to “better understand the portrait of the hidden country that should shame us and by shaming us, it should motivate us.”
The Metropolitan Areas of Lisbon and Porto met on Thursday to discuss and present the work carried out in their 35 municipalities in favour of disadvantaged communities, within the framework of the social responses of the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
Source: Observadora
