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The construction of a new hypermarket in Vila Verde, in the Braga district, is causing controversy and revolt among the population, with the local opposition (of the PS) accusing the municipal executive (of the PSD) of having “manipulated” the act of the Board meeting in which the project will have been considered. The Vilaverdense socialists claim to have voted against the work, but in the minutes of the meeting, dated September 7, their vote is recorded as ‘abstention’ – and these ‘minutes’ are not signed by themselves.
The councilor of the PS of the Vila Verde City Council, José Morais, tells SOL that the meeting took place for “more than two hours” and that “the councilors of the PS always maintained the intention of voting against” the construction of the hypermarket. The mayor affirms that, at the end of that period, due to the late hour, President António Vilela will have decided to interrupt the meeting, scheduling another meeting for the following day, where the formal vote on the project should take place. The following day, however, the minutes of the meeting will have been drawn up and concluded, which will contain four votes in favor of the elements that make up the Social Democratic Executive and three abstentions by the PS councilors.
And it is precisely at this point where the contradictions about what happened begin to emerge.
PSD councilor, Júlia Fernandes – married to PSD MEP José Manuel Fernandes (considered one of the seven most influential deputies in Parliament, according to this year’s Votewatch ranking) – assumes the defense of the Executive, maintaining another version of the acts. Júlia Fernandes tells SOL that “the meeting lasted until 1 pm, it was over and there was no postponement.” The local newspaper O Minho, however, contradicts this version, since on September 8 it reported that, indeed, the meeting had been postponed, in an article that even includes a statement by President António Vilela, where he stated that “there is still no decision »about the hypermarket.
The exchange of arguments continued at the next meeting, on September 21. At this meeting, the PS councilors refused to sign the minutes of the previous meeting, reaffirming that they voted against the bill. The councilors of the PSD, for their part, accused the Socialists of “fictionalizing the facts.” President António Vilela denied having postponed the vote or even made any statement at that time to the O Minho newspaper.
Meanwhile, the construction works for the new hypermarket, at the Bom Retiro roundabout, continue apace. The project still does not deserve a consensus in the locality, and the criticism, not only from the socialist opposition, but also from the population, continues, promising even to raise its tone in the near future. SOL found that a group of citizens of Vila Verde has been moving to carry out a popular lawsuit in the courts that would allow them to challenge the legality of the project and stop the construction of the hypermarket.
One of the biggest critics of the project continues to be the PS councilor, José Morais, who has published videos through his YouTube channel to warn about the negative changes in the area as a result of the works and the new infrastructure. José Morais warns of the increase in vehicle traffic, noise and the deterioration of the quality of life of the residents of that area.
A group of neighbors and merchants has also spoken out against the project, having sent a statement to the local newspaper Semanário V, published on October 24, which points to a series of illegalities in the construction of the hypermarket, emphasizing the noise and Dirt on the roads, resulting from the works.
Councilor accused of favoring relatives
But it’s not just the new hypermarket that has been fueling controversy in Vila Verde. In the ‘eye of the hurricane’ the name of Júlia Fernandes almost always appears, pointed out as a possible Social Democratic candidate for the presidency of the Chamber in the next municipalities. The councilor, currently in charge of Education, Culture and Social Action, has been publicly accused by the PS of using her position in the municipality for personal benefit and that of her family members. A network of influences that supposedly favored various associations and companies linked to Júlia Fernandes and her husband.
Socialist councilor José Morais has frequently used social networks and local media to denounce alleged abuses of power.
Paulo Marques, from CDS Vila Verde, also pointed his finger at Júlia Fernandes several times, accusing her, for example, in a statement last June, of being “a wolf pretending to be a lamb.”
As an example of these practices, there is the case of the local newspaper Terras do Homem, owned by the company Terraimagem, which, despite maintaining a low online presence and almost no physical circulation, will have received, in 2019, City Council funds amounting to twenty thousand euros. Now, Terraimagem is partly owned by Filipe Alves Fernandes, cousin of MEP José Manuel Fernandes (husband of Júlia Fernandes), while Emílio Rodrigues, principal editor of Terras do Homem, is the brother of Júlia Fernandes and brother-in-law of José Manuel. Fernandes.
Speaking to SOL, Júlia Fernandes denies the accusations, guaranteeing that “no newspaper in the region receives support from the City Council. Neither Terras do Homem, nor Semanário V, nor O Minho ”, adding, therefore, that“ he does not understand the controversy ”. Given the transfers made by the municipality to Terras do Homem, the councilor justifies that the contact between the City Council and the local media is exclusively for the request of “values for advertising.”
Equally controversial was Júlia Fernandes’ request for the Vila Verde Chamber to allocate an aid of twenty thousand euros to the municipal cooperative Aliança Artesanal, which is presided over by … Júlia Fernandes. The request ended, however, by not moving forward, as confirmed by the councilor to SOL, after the proposal was withdrawn by the president of the social democratic autarky, António Vilela. Even so, Júlia Fernandes believes that the support would be legitimate, since it would serve to “save the damage caused by the pandemic, which reduced the number of orders and caused losses in the three months in which the association, which employs two people, closed. as well as to carry out two Portugal 2020 projects to which we are going to apply, and for which it is necessary to have funds to develop ».
In November 2019, the mayor of Vila Verde, António Vilela, was involved as a defendant in a process in which he was charged by the Public Ministry for crimes of corruption, embezzlement and economic participation in business. As a result of the case, Vilela resigned as president of the Vilaverdense City Council of the PSD, maintaining his position as mayor.
Fake Profiles Investigated
José Manuel Lopes passed the leadership of the council structure. And, as the municipalities of 2021 approach, the movements also begin to choose who will take the place of António Vilela – unable to run due to the limitation of the mandate law – as a social democratic candidate for the leadership of the autarky.
Although José Manuel Lopes is, in theory, the natural bet, SOL found that Councilor Júlia Fernandes intends to advance in the race. The controversial support of the city council executive for Terras do Homem has even been linked to the pre-election strategy of Júlia Fernandes, accused of trying to use the newspaper to her advantage. At least, this is the reading of the director of the competitor Semanário V, Paulo Moreira Mesquita, who, in an article on the subject, questions whether Terras do Homem can still “arrive in time for the municipalities of 2021”. Another accusation is that Júlia Fernandes and her husband José Manuel Fernandes will be involved in the creation of false profiles on social networks (the so-called bot), in an attempt to influence local public opinion. In May, the newspaper Público reported that the leader of the CDS-PP in Vila Verde, Paulo Marques, even took the case to the Public Ministry, claiming that these false accounts were only to comment and share favorably on the executive’s Facebook posts, for Júlia Fernandes. and her husband José Manuel Fernandes, as well as content published in the Terras do Homem newspaper. After the complaint, the accounts ‘disappeared’ without a trace.
