Miguel Albuquerque believes that he did not make any political mistake by returning to Porto Santo despite the fire still not being under control in Madeira.
At the end of the Funchal City Day ceremony, the president of the Regional Government considered that he had acted “rationally”. “I was in the most urgent situation, from the moment that (the fire) was being controlled I went and I am here again. There is no problem”, he argued.
He believes, in fact, that his absence “means that we are confident in the decisions we make” and warns that he will not be conditioned despite the criticism that is spreading on social media. “Last year there was a fire in Calheta, 12 houses were consumed by the flames and there was no such fuss and I don’t understand why they are making a fuss now. (hummm maybe because of or corruption charges , along with friends and big companies on the island. People no longer respect you)
If there had been houses destroyed, infrastructure destroyed, if there had been deaths or injuries”, he stressed.
He guarantees that the fight against the fires is being well coordinated. “The entire strategy that was followed and that I followed on the ground was appropriate for this type of fire, which is to place assets and forces in strategic locations in order to contain the fire in urban areas. That is what was done and after these days there are no injuries, nor homes or infrastructures destroyed, fortunately”, he reinforced.
In Albuquerque’s opinion, the important thing at this stage is “not to feed into exaggerated and alarmist rhetoric”. “This is not my first fire, it is the 25th that I have faced”, refuting the more pessimistic criticisms. “Madeira is not burning, there were some peaks where the undergrowth was burning. It is normal for everyone to be worried, but my job is to make decisions rationally and calmly”.
In conclusion, he downplayed the position of the National Civil Protection Union, which called for Pedro Ramos to resign. “I don’t know who this union is. Civil Protection has the trust of the Government of Madeira, not the unions. The unions still don’t rule the country.”