Lisbon’s local government, headed by centre-right mayor Carlos Moedas, has become mired in controversy after approving the disbursement of €175,000 to support the LGBT event ‘EuroPride 2025’ in the Portuguese capital.
The event, green-lighted by the administration of Moedas – a former Goldman Sachs executive and EU Commissioner for Research – is set to take place between June 14-22.
Lisbon has seen various gay pride celebrations take place over the years. This year, though, various left-wing NGOs opted not to participate in the planning.
That was due to disagreements over the entity chosen to oversee the event, an NGO called Variações, which is dedicated to promoting LGBT tourism. It has been under investigation by the authorities for alleged financial irregularities unrelated to this month’s event.
The left-wing opposition in the local government did not endorse the mayor’s plans in part for that choice of partner but also because it alleged the funding may be detrimental to other pride initiatives, a charge the mayor’s office denied.
On the cultural Right, NGOs were incensed over public funding for an event that they claimed exposed lewd scenes to children and which would coincide with a month of national and religious holidays, as well as summer school vacations for minors.
Lígia Castro, of the Conservative Family Association, echoed the Left’s concerns over the choice of Variações to organise the event.
“The pride marches have managed self-funding in the past and the LGBT NGOs have their own funding mechanisms through membership fees and donations,” he pointed out.
Another issue of concern for Castro was what she described as the “foreign minorities expected to attend the event whose behaviours and customs are alien to Portuguese culture and which amount to a public libertine orgy”.
Moedas surprisingly won the mayoral election in 2021 and since then has been touted as one of the top contenders for the leadership of the ruling Democratic Alliance (AD) coalition in the event that Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro were to resign.
Moedas has said he would run for re-election in the mayoral election this autumn and is currently expected to retain his seat.
