Fábio Alves is the CDS-PP candidate in Santa Cruz das Flores

The coordinator of the Ilha das Flores Service of the Regional Secretariat for Youth, Housing and Employment, Fábio Alves, is a candidate for the leadership of the municipality, in the October elections, for the CDS-PP, to “do things differently” in the municipality.

"Our candidacy stems from the dream of doing things differently. I'm not saying we'll do more and better, because doing more of the same and improving on the same won't help us evolve," the candidate told Lusa news agency this Monday.

Fábio Alves, 36, a graduate in Civil Engineering and an employee of the municipality of Santa Cruz das Flores, said that the municipality “faces several structural problems”.

"One of the most pressing concerns is the review of the Municipal Master Plan (PDM). This review must be completed by the end of this year. Otherwise, in 2026, Santa Cruz will no longer be eligible for community funding [...]. Since the public discussion process hasn't even begun yet, we risk missing a strategic opportunity for the municipality's future," he noted.

He admitted that the candidacy's main concern is the population decline, a situation with several causes: "One of the most obvious is the fact that young people leave immediately after high school to pursue higher education. Many don't return, not for lack of desire, but for lack of opportunities ."

He also highlighted "a serious problem in access to housing," stating that, as he has responsibilities at the island level of the Regional Housing Directorate of the Regional Government of the Azores, he has "direct knowledge and legitimacy to state that there is much to be done."

According to the CDS-PP candidate, the candidacy he leads is based on three fundamental pillars: housing, economic development and support for employment and repopulation of parishes .

If elected mayor, he promises that the first focus of his action "will be the review of the PDM" to "guarantee access to community funds, allowing us to do more with less reliance on our own investment", along with "renegotiation with the Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation (IHRU), to take advantage of the 2.7 million euros from the 1st Right program, which are yet to be applied".

Still in housing, it will move forward with the housing development in Terça, the rehabilitation of a house (Rua Frei Diogo das Chagas) and the acquisition of vacant houses in the parishes and will proceed with the “rejection of inappropriate projects such as the conversion of the Siturflor building into T0, T1 and T2”.

On the business side, it proposes relocating the industrial zone to Vales, transforming one of the warehouses in the Boqueirão area into the new municipal market, and creating an industrial incubation kitchen to support small producers.

Other proposals include strengthening the municipality's staff with technicians in the social, sports, veterinary and architectural areas.

Fábio Alves also highlights new public transport links between parishes, the construction of water reservoirs, and a new model for supporting associations.

Other projects include the creation of an "education voucher" to replace the current support for purchasing school textbooks, support for accompanying medical visits, an animal shelter, and the launch of a beach complex with a swimming pool and a multipurpose space in Santa Cruz.

The municipality of Santa Cruz das Flores is led by socialist José Carlos Mendes, who cannot run again due to term limits.

The current municipal executive is made up of three elected members of the PS and two from the Unidos com Confiança coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM).

In the 2021 local elections, the PS won with 61.82% of the votes and the coalition obtained 35.01%.

In addition to Fábio Alves, the candidacies of Ivan Castro (PS), Daniel Miranda (PSD), José Paulo Sousa (Chega) and Elisabete Noia (Civic Movement for the Council) for the presidency of the Municipal Council of Santa Cruz das Flores are known.

The local elections are scheduled for October 12th.

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