Moreira says EU funding is ‘unique opportunity to attack’ poverty

The mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, said this Thursday that funding from public funds is a “unique opportunity to solve the problem” of poverty and social exclusion, which, in his opinion, cannot be solved through aid or charity.

At the welcoming session of the Lisbon-Porto metropolitan meeting, Rui Moreira highlighted the role of public funds in “solving the problem of poverty and exclusion” at the metropolitan level.

“A problem that cannot be solved with help or charity. It can be solved through an active social inclusion policy,” the mayor said at a meeting held at the Super Bock Arena – Pavilhão Rosa Mota.

According to Rui Moreira, policies are needed in the areas of social mobility, education, training, access to housing, public services, entrepreneurship, creativity, promoting healthy lifestyles, combating information isolation and developing digital skills.

Considering poverty and social exclusion to be “complex and multidimensional phenomena,” Rui Moreira argued that addressing them requires a “deliberate approach,” with municipalities playing an “absolutely central role” in the matter.

The mayor of Porto also said that he agrees with the mayor of Lisbon “when he defends the local social state.”

“The phenomenon of poverty and social exclusion has ramifications and consequences that go beyond the boundaries between neighboring municipalities,” he said, saying municipalities must identify strategies that harmonize social cohesion interests and projects.

However, Rui Moreira said that “more skills and financial resources from the state are needed” for municipalities to “effectively protect the most vulnerable”.

Recalling that megacities hide “the greatest phenomena of exclusion”: from school dropouts to domestic violence and the integration of migrants, Rui Moreira expressed hope that the meeting would serve “to better understand the portrait of a hidden country that should shame us and, shame should motivate us.”

The metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto met today to discuss and present the work developed in their 35 municipalities for disadvantaged communities as part of the social measures of the Recovery and Resilience Plan.