The request, approved today by the Parliamentary Committee on Culture, Communication, Youth and Sports, with the favorable votes of the PS, Liberal Initiative and Chega, and with the votes against the PSD (the remaining left-wing parties were absent), calls for the urgent hearing of the minister, on "the policies for heritage, the dismissals and appointments made: Museums and Monuments EPE, Cultural Heritage IP, Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower".

At issue is the decision, announced in a statement on Tuesday, to dismiss the leaders of Museums and Monuments of Portugal (MMP) and Cultural Heritage (PC), and to appoint the new director of the Jerónimos Monastery and the Belém Tower.

However, the matter goes back a long way, with the Socialist parliamentary group having already questioned the Government on May 20 about whether it intended to reverse the constitution of the Cultural Heritage Institute and the Museums and Monuments of Portugal company.

This is because, on International Museum Day, Dalila Rodrigues described as "disastrous" the reform carried out by the previous Government in cultural heritage, with the creation of MMP and PC, and implemented in January this year, which caused "bewilderment and concern" in the PS.

In the opinion of the Socialist deputies, on the one hand, the attitude of the supervisory authority contradicts "the good practices, examples and good results that similar models have in other countries", and on the other hand, the statements made are "untimely, since this model has only been in place for five months".

"This demonstrates not an evaluation of the reorganization of the heritage management model, but only a rush and a pattern already manifested in other portfolios of this government that intends to reverse just for the sake of reversing without any study, planning or vision for the sector", they accuse.

Thus, in the request approved today, the PS parliamentary group expresses doubts about what motivated the "precipitated dismissals" in the two organizations, following the "untimely statements about the qualification of a reorganization that has not yet had time to demonstrate its flaws or virtues and for the necessary evaluation that should be made at the right time".

The Socialists also have doubts about "the legitimacy and non-interference of the ministry in the appointment of directors of museums and monuments, since autonomy and decentralization are one of the main objectives and missions that underlie the creation of Museums and Monuments EPE and that gives it -- the board of directors -- this competence".

The request then arises so that "this is clarified" and so that "there are no longer any doubts about the motivations that led to this outcome", about respect for legality and about decisions "that may contribute to greater centralization, less autonomy and consequent paralysis of the good functioning of Museums and Monuments EPE, and the structures that make it up".

The reform carried out by the PS Government gave rise to the Cultural Heritage public institute and the Museums and Monuments of Portugal public business entity, based on the structure of the former Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage, and was accompanied by the extinction of the regional directorates of culture, with the transfer of powers in the area of heritage to the Regional Coordination and Development Commissions.

The Socialist deputies consider that the possible reversal of this reform is "serious" and could result "in serious damage to the commitments made both at the level of the PRR [Recovery and Resilience Plan] for culture, and at the level of autonomy and non-interference that the State should have in relation to public companies".

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