Célia Pessegueiro, president of the PS-Madeira socialists, criticised the head of the regional government on the afternoon of 17 October. She says Miguel Albuquerque denies the poverty figures for Madeira.
She spoke during a visit to a building site in Lombada da Ponta do Sol.
One in Five at Risk
Pessegueiro pointed to a report by the European Anti-Poverty Network, published this week. It says one in five Madeirans are at risk of poverty.
She says Albuquerque refuses to admit that poverty exists. That includes people who face inequality even though they work. The government itself has worked with the same organisation and asked it for studies.
"Not accepting this reality, not accepting something that the Government's services know very well, since they work with this same organisation, is halfway to doing nothing to change the situation."
Célia Pessegueiro, President of PS-Madeira
She said the president celebrates good results, so he should also accept the bad ones. In her view, they belong in the government's policies
Help for 5,000 Families
Pessegueiro also pointed to a recent 2 million euro increase for the PROAGES programme. It helps people who usually get no other social support.
She called this a contradiction. The government funds help for about 5,000 needy families, but now denies the poverty data.
Source: jm-madeira.pt
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