In Portugal, we should improve the culture of transparency and “accountability".
They will certainly remember the so-called “Reform Relvas”, the one that extinguished more than a thousand parishes throughout the country.
I remember that much was discussed at the time of the goodness of this reform, its necessity and imperative (the result of the signing of the memorandum with the troika).
The mayors of the parishes tried to prevent the approval of the law, even asking the President of the Republic to exercise his teaching influence, and used their arguments, one of which was that the savings obtained would be practically nil.
When the law was approved, then-minister Miguel Relvas stated that, “with the approval of this axis of the Local Administration reform, we are taking another step towards increasing the efficiency of public services, as well as towards the sustainability of local government. Territorial cohesion is reinforced. This is a reform for the people and not for the politicians”.
More than two years later, it was important to understand if the extinction of 1165 parishes led to efficiency gains in public services or if the local government became more sustainable as a result. And, by the way, whether territorial cohesion has been strengthened.
We know in part, at least formally (?!), the criteria that were at the basis of the closing of courts, tax offices, health centers, by the Central Power. And we know that such criteria did not coincide with those that presided over the political-administrative reorganization… Shouldn't they have been? Or should the latter have been others? Has territorial cohesion been strengthened? I don't think so. Extinguishing or grouping geographical areas or public services, by itself, does not solve our problems and may even aggravate them.
By this I do not mean that a process of political-administrative reorganization should not be promoted. But participatory, transparent, of course, whose objective was effectively territorial cohesion and the efficient and equitable provision to all citizens of the public services that a rule of law must guarantee.
And, by the way, it would be necessary to understand whether Law 75/2013, of 12/09, which establishes the legal regime for local authorities, approves the statute of intermunicipal entities, establishes the legal regime for the transfer of powers from the State to local authorities and for intermunicipal entities and approves the legal regime of municipal associations, it is even appropriate to the times we live in and the challenges we face.
It would make sense to carry out a Reform worthy of the name, if it were based on a thoughtful and sustainable vision of the territory, taking into account, for example, the demographic contours and economic fabric of municipalities, commuting, the effects of scale in attracting investment, which could bring efficiency gains and improve the provision of public goods to populations.
And, under these conditions, I believe that the populations would be willing to see the councils where they live and/or work extinct or grouped together.
But would politicians and mayors be too?
Author: Inês Morais Pereira is a lawyer and doctoral candidate in Innovation and Territory Management at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Algarve
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