José Manuel Bolieiro welcomes National Government's backing down on Social Mobility Aid and calls for law to be repealed - Communication

Presidência do Governo Regional

The President of the Azorean Government, José Manuel Bolieiro, has already commented on the announcement made by the National Government to suspend, until January 31, the requirement of having no outstanding debts to the Tax Authorities and Social Security as a condition for accessing the Social Mobility Aid (SSM).

For José Manuel Bolieiro, this is a "step back" that should be acknowledged.

"With the same assertiveness as the Azorean Government criticised this option and now, with the same assertiveness, I praise the humbleness and concession of the National Government," he said, defending that the rule should be repealed and not just suspended.

The head of the Azorean Government also stressed the importance of institutional dialogue, mentioning the Regional Government's willingness to agree on solutions with Lisbon, always with a clear goal: "defending the Azores and the Azoreans" and ensuring a "fair" mobility policy, as this is a measure of territorial continuity.

The President of the Government recalled that the Azorean Government acted immediately upon becoming aware of the requirement, putting forward its own initiative. On the same day, it approved a preliminary proposal at the Government Council, which was submitted to the Regional Parliament and approved unanimously. According to him, this process also highlighted the alignment between the Azores and Madeira in opposition to the option taken by the National Government.

As for the path forward, José Manuel Bolieiro pointed out the example of the “Azores Fare” as a model that could solve the problem by ensuring greater democratisation and universality in access to mobility, advocating that solutions should be created “by example” and not just “by words.”

In a statement released on January 14, the National Government explained that this suspension will allow the measure to be assessed in conjunction with regional governments. The same document states that payment processing through the new platform, scheduled for January 15, will not be available in the first few days and that requests for trips made until January 30 will continue to be processed at the Portuguese Postal Services - CTT, as before, without this requirement.