Luís Graça, Algarve deputy from the PS, temporarily abandoned the presidency of the Parliamentary Committee for Culture to, this Wednesday, January 11, intervene against the Government due to the exclusion of ACTA - The Theater Company of the Algarve from the Program of Sustained Support of the General Directorate of Arts (DGArtes).
The situation happened during a hearing to the Minister of Culture, at the request of the PSD, BE and PCP, this Wednesday morning.
Luís Graça, who is president of the Parliamentary Committee for Culture, Communication, Youth and Sports, left the presidency, temporarily, to make an intervention, as a member of the PS, where he criticized the Government.
The reason? The exclusion of ACTA – Companhia de Teatro do Algarve from the four-year support of the Sustained Support Program of the Directorate-General for Arts, in the theater aspect.
In his speech, Luís Graça said that, as a parliamentarian elected by the Algarve, he «could not fail to express» his «discomfort, given the consequences of the outcome of the support program for the arts».
ACTA, he said, is a «professional theater company with a 25-year network that involves municipalities, the University of the Algarve and schools».
Without this support, the company's work "is at risk and we [the Algarve] are poorer", he added.
In statements to the Sul Informação, this Friday, the 13th, Luís Graça reiterated his displeasure with the result of this contest.
«Before becoming president of the culture commission, I was a deputy, elected by the region. My link is with the Algarve and I think the jury's decision, in addition to being unfair, is wrong. That's why I did the intervention I did », he considered.
According to the final results, known this Tuesday, the 10th, in the four-year support from 2023 to 2026, the chosen company, in the Algarve, is Teatro do Eléctrico, which even has its headquarters… in Amadora.
In total, you will receive 1,2 million euros.
«It doesn't seem fair to me that a company, headquartered in Lisbon, should be financed by the Government, when the public notice says that the Algarve must have at least one supported company», he considered in statements to our newspaper.
Also to Sul Informação, Luís Vicente, artistic director of ACTA – The Theater Company of the Algarve, applauded the attitude of the PS deputy.
«Luís Graça behaved very dignified and with a high conscience – I don't know if the minister was pleased, but the intervention was very assertive», he said.
The leader of ACTA is not satisfied with the fact that the company has been left out of this support, which, he admits, could jeopardize the work of 25 years.
“This took me completely by surprise. I'm still not redone. It could be something catastrophic for the company and for the region », she considered.
«Out of 12 people, we've already had to lay off two, but we're not going to give up», he guaranteed.
Luís Graça also hopes that «mechanisms will be found so that ACTA is supported because it has a huge amount of work».
"There is an error here and I hope that the minister is not immune to what I said because I also said it in defense of the Government", concluded the socialist deputy.
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