The Deputy Minister and Minister of Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, spoke this morning in the wake of the fires ravaging Portugal, emphasizing that “the State exists for situations of greatest need.”
“Our group’s mission is not to fight fires; that is the task of civil protection. We are helping to solve the problems of people who have already been victims of fire. There are immediate issues, ensuring that no one is left without food, a bed to sleep in, clothes, without a penny in their pocket, and then problems (…) to recover infrastructure,” Castro Almeida began, in statements to journalists.
Upon arrival in Aveiro, where the Government is meeting today with mayors of the municipalities most affected by the fires that have broken out in the central region, the minister stated that the Government’s “first obligation” is “to listen to what the mayors have to say.”
“The Government must be closely allied with the mayors, and I feel that there is this willingness on the part of the mayors to coordinate with us so that people feel their problems are being solved. They know the reality better than anyone, and there are problems that the mayors will be able to solve on their own and others where they will need the help of the State,” he added.
The priority, according to the minister, is “to make the affected people feel that someone is looking out for them.”
The government official also noted that “the State exists for situations” like those the country is currently experiencing: “When people are in greatest need, the State must appear and help quickly.”
It should be noted that the Government has created a multidisciplinary team to deal with the consequences of the fires of recent days, based in Aveiro and coordinated by Minister Castro Almeida, as announced by the Prime Minister.
“From the point of view of support for the populations and local authorities that have been affected, a multidisciplinary team has been created in the Government, coordinated by the Minister for Territorial Cohesion, which will be installed tomorrow [Tuesday] morning in the municipality of Aveiro,” he announced.
According to Montenegro, this team “is already planning and scheduling meetings with the mayors of the most affected municipalities” and will include Secretaries of State for Health, Education, Social Security, Housing, Forests, and Local Administration.
[News updated at 11:06 AM]