Can you share your journey from your early career to becoming the Chief of Staff to Maia’s Mayor? What motivated you to pursue a path in public service, and were there any pivotal moments that influenced your direction?
My academic background, clinical psychology, was the starting point for my professional career. I remember that, at that time, mental health was neither valuable nor important for people’s well-being; this motivated me to explore a way to contribute to the development of public policies in this area.
Fortunately, Maia has always established itself as a dynamic territory, thanks to successive municipal governments that have distinguished themselves by a holistic vision of development, with strong ties to the community, providing citizens with opportunities to contribute to the common assets. I had this opportunity and seized it with great commitment and a spirit of mission, with a special connection to Education, on a path that led me to the Head of the Office of Support to the Presidency.
In 2011, in a very difficult period in Portugal’s recent history, I accepted the challenge of joining the lists of deputies for the Portuguese Parliament. I have been a Member of Parliament for two consecutive terms and it was an extraordinary and very demanding experience, as I participated in dossiers of great political relevance and I was entrusted with responsibilities that greatly honoured me.
This nationwide experience justified the appeal it has been made, to me, in 2019, to return to Maia, and which I immediately accepted, taking the Education and Health portfolios. At the beginning of 2020, the pandemic came and I found myself facing a dystopian and unusual scenario, in which I had to lead the response in our city (one of the most industrialized in the country) to the biggest global health crisis in Modern History. It was, without a doubt, the most demanding period of either my (somehow long and diversified) path in public service, as on a personal level.As of 2021, I was entrusted as the Vice-Mayor of the city, with responsibilities in Education, Health and Social Development, and I am proud to be part of a team of excellence, led by a President rightly recognized by the community, nationally and internationally.
Who or what has been the most significant influence in your career? How have your personal values shaped your professional decisions?
I was born into a middle-class family in which there was – and continues to be – a strong awareness of citizenship and political intervention. Therefore, from an early age I got used to political debate since at a time when we were living the first years of the implantation of democracy in Portugal, after decades of dictatorship.
My youth coincided with the dawn of global trends and debates that influenced and motivated me to social and political activism. It is no coincidence that, even today, I invest in getting to know different geographies and realities at a cultural, social and economic level, as I understand that this worldview is important to find new answers to the problems and challenges that arise in local governance.
As Vice Mayor to Maia, what are your key responsibilities? How do you manage the demanding nature of this role alongside your duties as a deputy at the National Parliament?
In addition to the Vice-Presidency, I am responsible for the areas of Education, Social Development and Health. These are the areas that I consider truly structuring for the balanced and sustained development of a community and are also the areas to which I have dedicated myself the most over the years, including when I was a Member of the Assembly of the Republic.
In fact, I believe that there are no effective macroeconomic models without thinking about people’s well-being, nor sustainable and successful education or health policies without specifically knowing the real problems of the populations. Politics must, in my opinion, be intransigent about the primacy of proximity and priority to people and seek decisions that impact these local universes in the proportionality of each specific problem. In fact, this is one of the virtues of the European model: the subscription to a common project, but respecting the specificities of each region, each culture and each local population.
That is why I am concerned with cultivating an open dialogue with relevant personalities and entities in politics and in various sectors of society, at local and national level, which allows for the sharing of information, debate and reflection. From my experience, I have a sense of commitment and a spirit of openness to good governance at the service of the community as fundamental.
Public service can be highly demanding. How do you ensure that you maintain a healthy work-life balance? Are there specific routines or practices you follow to stay physically and mentally well?
I confess that it is very difficult for me to disconnect from my professional and political responsibility. If you ask my team, my family or my friends, they would probably answer that it is impossible, for me. It is in my nature, and it results from what I have learned and experienced since childhood… I mean the natural call to contribute to the common cause has been following my career in a natural way, due to my education.
I make sure I have essential rules of healthy eating, physical activity and socializing with closest people, namely family and friends, who provide me with an emotional and affective environment, that is essential for my balance.
You’re on your first mandate as a deputy at the National Parliament for PSD. How has your experience in Parliament differed from your expectations, and what have been the most rewarding aspects?
There’s no doubt, it has been a period of growth, learning and broadening my horizons. I had the privilege of working with personalities of great value, in my bench, but also in the other parties. In fact, it has been in the national Parliament that I early reinforced the enormous importance of create points of dialogue, how to respect opinions from different parties and groups, and to become able to build bridges, leading to common points that allow us to design comprehensive and sustainable solutions to the challenges facing society.
What key issues are you most passionate about in Parliament? How do you see your role in driving these initiatives forward?
Education, Social Development and Health have always been the key areas in my political action. This was reflected in my parliamentary work, having devoted special attention to the legislative processes developed within the scope of these topics and actively participating in the Education and Science Committee and the Health Committee. I believe that I have made important and positive contributions in defining the legislative initiatives that have been implemented in that time.
You’re actively involved in several parliamentary committees. Could you tell us more about your work on these committees and how they align with your broader goals?
In fact, in addition to the committees on Education and Science, Health and Environment, Spatial Planning, Decentralization, Local Government and Housing, I was a member of several specialized Working Groups. In these contexts, the Member is required to be more dedicated and to study the matters even more in-depth, because only then is the contribution to the debate and to the definition of solutions significant and valuable. This is what I tried to do in the different committees in which I participated, with democratic openness and constructive spirit, in the certainty that, at the same time, I was accumulating capital of knowledge and experience to make use of it in my career at the service of the public cause.
Leadership requires both mental and physical resilience. How do you maintain your well-being while managing your responsibilities? Do you incorporate any specific wellness practices into your routine?
On one side, I try to set aside some time for physical exercise, although I don’t always achieve it in proportion to my goals. On the other hand, as I have personal ties to different NGOs, mostly linked to childhood and the elderly, I have the opportunity, in these moments of conviviality, to be myself, free from any formalisms.
Moreover, I also like to travel, especially to geographies of peoples with ancient history or societies with marked challenges in the areas of education or health.
Outside of work, what hobbies or activities do you enjoy? How do these help you unwind and keep your creativity flowing?
The available relaxation time I channel, mostly, to socialize with family and friends. Life is so short that we should take advantage of every minute to grow in the backyard of love, watered by joy.
Balancing a demanding career with personal life can be challenging. How do you achieve balance, and what advice would you offer to others facing similar challenges?
It is so true: the balance between personal and professional life is one of the most pressing issues in contemporary times. Society has jobs that require more and more skills, more knowledge and more availability, which poses important challenges in terms of mental health and personal well-being. Mental problems are no longer exclusive to each person, but rather a problem of the society as a whole and of organizations that welcome each person. Thus, it emerges as a concern for those who have responsibilities for governance and management of institutions, either as a critical factor of productivity and competitiveness, or in the health and social dimension.
This is a topic that should not, and cannot, be relativized or disregarded. Mental health is as important as physical health, in people’s well-being and happiness.
What are your long-term goals in public service? Do you envision continuing in politics, or are there other ambitions you hope to explore?
I think that in democracy, you are not a politician, but you are in politics. I mean, being in politics is a mission state and a commitment: neither an achievement nor a trophy. I will be in politics as long as I deserve the trust of the people who elect me and I maintain this personal drive for public service.
In the same way, I am always prepared to leave this activity regardless of my motivation, if eventually People stop seeing themselves in my work.
Looking ahead, what impact do you hope to have on your community and the country? What legacy would you like to leave behind?
I would like to be remembered for someone who used all her energy and competence to improve the lives of people, especially those who belong to the most disadvantaged social fringes.
What advice would you give to young people, especially women, considering a career in politics or public service? How can they navigate the challenges and succeed?
Always keep in mind the best interests of the people. In this way, you will have the necessary resilience to contribute to effective and concrete political solutions, that respond to the needs and desires of fellow citizens.
Seek to ensure that your political contributions are also underpinned by sound technical and scientific foundations, as well as by the primordial values of democratic and humanist societies. The times we are living require particular attention to the preservation of these values, as well as to the strengthening of aspects such as equal opportunities.
As a woman, my dream is to quickly reach a point of social maturity in which social elevators work without interference from legal obligations, without the need for specific quotas for groups, and without special statuses. Until then, all I can recommend is that they guide public action by respect for difference and the pursuit of equal opportunities.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers about your journey, values, or vision for the future?
I thank you for the opportunity and I take the chance to share a reflection aimed at youth:
In a society that is more connected, but perhaps less shared; more informed, but perhaps less knowledgeable; and more ambitious, but perhaps less committed, it is important that young people assume a stronger presence in the collective reflection of the European future.
I urge young people to get to know and get closer to the European institutions, for a more focused participation in the future of a Humanist and Successful Europe. The boundaries of the European project are now clear and in the process of consolidation. The next decade will end the growth of Europe’s borders dreamed of in the post-World War II period, but only possible after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
I hope that a new cycle of growth and construction will be entered, necessarily outward-looking. For this new phase, the commitment of the new generations is required, with more technological, more futuristic, long-term visions and untied to the past, while celebrating and respecting it.
With an ageing population, I fear that the voice of young people will be forgotten in major decisions and in building the future of Europe, due to a lack of political and civic participation. I also fear that young people will not demand this participation, because they understand (wrongly, in my perspective) that it can be replaced by activism outside the institutions. This fear carries two risks: the loss of focus on the future and the discredit of institutions.
Institutions must be increasingly of the young and for the young. And they not only have the right, but also the duty, to participate in the construction of society, within and in the regimental rules of these same institutions, contributing, at the same time, to its renewal.
Leave a comment