The festival of corruption in Portuguese parishes continues in full swing. And all parties are invited.
These contracts are invariably surrounded by pompous names, but in practice they say nothing about the real value that this “friendly” person or entity provides to the parish council.
It is so-called “legal” Portuguese corruption, because none of this is considered illegal practices by Portuguese laws, in fact the laws are “designed” by these same corrupt politicians. Oops!
Portuguese politicians do not make laws for the people to live well in a fair society, Portuguese politicians make laws that serve them to steal from the Portuguese, but at the same time make sure that everything is done within the “law” 😉
We are talking about a country where the average monthly pension is 490.65 euros, but many people receive a change of 231.88 euros!
The following article is a translation (mostly MT). You can find the link to the original website at the end of it.
Parish councils such as Estrela, governed by Luís Newton, or São Domingos de Benfica signed contracts with members of the party or people linked to it. Among the contracts, there are advisors, consultants and technicians in contracts worth up to 24,000 euros
In most of the eleven parish councils that are under investigation in the Tutti Frutti process, there are currently many contracts with elements of the party that governs them. This is what happens, for example, in the parish council of São Domingos de Benfica, governed by the social democrat José da Câmara, investigated in the Tutti Frutti operation, a process revealed by CNN/TVI that reveals an alleged
conspiracy between leaders of the PS and PSD to negotiate political places at the level of parishes and municipalities.
The parish council signed two contracts with members and previous public office holders. One was with António Manuel de Sousa Parente, a previous member of the Avenidas Novas parish council (PSD/CDS) who in April this year signed a contract, worth 10,800 euros, for Psychology services within the scope of the Community Intervention Office. Another contract was signed with Luís Vieira da Silva who, in 2018, was a member of the Parish Assembly of São Domingos and who, in March of this year, was hired on a direct basis to provide administrative and logistical support to the services and bodies of the Parish, earning 19,200 euros.
To CNN Portugal, José da Câmara, the president of the Parish Council of São Domingos de Benfica guarantees that “the procedures are adopted in accordance with and in compliance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic”.
Other parish councils investigated in the Tutti frutti operation, such as Penha de França, governed by socialist Ana Oliveira Dias or Lumiar, led by Ricardo Mexia, from the PSD, also hired elements close to the party or local government. In the parish council of Penha de França, since 2021, three contracts have been signed with Nuno Ferreira Pintão, former municipal deputy of Lisbon and former legal consultant at the Ministry of Internal Administration. In total, the contracts for Legal Sponsorship, Support and Legal Advice Services amount to 31,000 euros.
In the case of the Lumiar Parish Council, led by the doctor and social democrat Ricardo Mexia, at least 24 thousand euros were awarded to party colleague Patricia Leitão – one of the PSD activists who appears in the Tutti Fruti process, and who, according to the Public Ministry, will have received agreements to provide support to the PSD group in the Lisbon Municipal Assembly, without actually providing these services.
The same happens at the Estrela Parish Council, led by Luís Newton, accused in the Tutti Frutti case – which investigates “influences aimed at achieving the conclusion of public contracts”. The social democrat has awarded communication consultancy services to various elements and companies linked to social democrats and centrists such as 100X+ Consultores, Unipessoal Lda, which belongs to Raquel Abecasis, previous head of the CDS list for Leiria in the 2019 legislative elections.
Luís Newton and direct agreements
Luís Newton, who is accused in the Tutti Frutti case – which investigates “influences aimed at achieving the conclusion of public contracts” – has made several direct agreements to party members or elements linked to recent governments. In the last two years, he provided several services to the company 100X + Consultores, Unipessoal Lda, which belongs to Raquel Abecasis, previous head of the CDS list for Leiria in the 2019 legislative elections. She was hired for communication consultancy services.
Likewise, in January 2021, Newton directly hired the consultant João Maria Jonet, who worked on the International Relations Commission of the Social Democratic Party and later on Jorge Moreira da Silva’s campaign against Montenegro.
More recently, in January 2023, Luís Newton ‘renewed’ the contract of Anabela dos Santos Ramos Mendes, former advisor to former PSD Justice Minister Paula Teixeira da Cruz, for “Provision of artistic and literary creation services”. In this last contract, by direct agreement, Luís Newton’s board paid Anabela Mendes 24,000 euros. As early as January 2021, a similar contract had been signed between the two parties through prior consultation.
To CNN Portugal, a source from the Estrela Parish Council highlights that its executive “does not adopt the candidate’s ideology or the circumstance of being a member of a political party as an award criterion.”
Specifically regarding the hiring of Raquel Abecasis’ company, the same source states that she is “a professional greater than any partisan dimension” and that “it was a huge added value for this Parish Council, and the Community we serve, to have with the collaboration of said company”.
A country where criminals and the powerful are systematically protected to the detriment of victims and its citizens is the definition of a dictatorship, which is why Portugal should leave the EU.
PORTUGAL ROBBED ME €130.000 EUR AND SIX YEARS OF MY LIFE!
Your comments are most welcome and appreciated, so please feel free to leave your comments at the bottom of this page.
