The Algarve’s Juventude Popular (JP), a division of one of Portugal’s most significant political youth organisations, has threatened to take legal action against 13 of the Algarve’s 16 municipalities, arguing that they have failed to ensure the effective operation of their respective Municipal Youth Councils (CMJs). According to a survey carried out by the political organisation, only Lagos, Loulé, and Portimão currently have youth councils deemed to be “functioning”.
The decision to pursue legal action against municipalities where the councils are not operating effectively was unanimously approved by the JP Algarve District Political Committee, the organisation has revealed in a statement.
For reference, the Juventude Popular is a youth organisation associated with Portugal’s centre-right CDS-PP. Founded in 1974 as Juventude Centrista, it adopted its current name in 1998. The group describes its political tradition as rooted in Christian democracy, liberalism, and conservatism.
“The Municipal Youth Council is not simply an advisory body to the municipal council. It is a genuine platform for young people, giving them a voice and, above all, ensuring that they are heard,” the organisation argues.
JP Algarve cites Law No. 8/2009 of 18 February, which establishes the legal framework governing Municipal Youth Councils, and sets out the rules on their composition, powers, and operation. The law defines the CMJ as the municipality’s advisory body on matters relating to youth policy, also establishing a deadline for municipalities that did not yet have such a body to set one up.
The survey published by JP Algarve paints what the organisation regards as a concerning vignette, of the region’s 16 municipalities, only three are deemed to have active Municipal Youth Councils.
According to information gathered by the group directly from the municipalities, Lagos, Loulé and Portimão have functioning CMJs, with the latter two singled out by the political organisation as “benchmarks” in the region.
In Albufeira, meanwhile, the youth council is reportedly inactive, despite the municipality having approved regulations in 2022. JP says a similar situation exists in Faro.
In Olhão, the regulations date back to 2014, but the council is reportedly inactive. Silves is also said to have an inactive CMJ, despite regulations approved in 2016. In Tavira, JP says the most recent available minutes date from November 2018, while in Vila Real de Santo António it points to an inactive council and regulations dating from 2010.
A different situation applies in Alcoutim, Aljezur, Castro Marim, Lagoa, Monchique, São Brás de Alportel, and Vila do Bispo, where, according to the survey published by Juventude Popular, there is currently no record of a Municipal Youth Council.
JP does, however, make a number of qualifications. In Aljezur, it says the new municipal administration is currently consulting stakeholders with a view to establishing the body. In Castro Marim, the municipality is reported to have justified the absence of a CMJ on the grounds that there were insufficient conditions to constitute one. In Lagoa, meanwhile, the 2025-26 Action Plan reportedly provides for the “promotion of a CMJ”.
A substantial part of the youth activists’ statement is devoted to the situation in Faro, however, criticising the municipality’s decision to establish a Youth Municipal Assembly, rather than a Municipal Youth Council.
According to JP Algarve, the body is made up of primary and secondary school pupils and does not provide for the participation of youth wings of political parties. The organisation argues that its existence does not resolve the situation concerning the Municipal Youth Council.
“Without prejudice to the importance of the Youth Municipal Assembly, its existence does not replace the legal obligation imposed on the municipality,” Juventude Popular maintains.
In its statement, JP also uses strongly critical language to describe the solution adopted in Faro, characterising it as a means of avoiding internal opposition.
“The Municipal Youth Council is the advisory body which, above all, gives young people a space they would otherwise not have. It is an opportunity to speak and be heard, grounded in the ideals of Pluralist Democracy,” the organisation adds.
The group argues that “the CMJs are an institutional instrument for youth participation and its existence should translate into effective, rather than merely formal, operation”.
The organisation, led at regional level by Lourenço Pinheiro de Melo, is considering taking its political criticism to the courts, stating that it “will not hesitate” to bring administrative proceedings, where it considers the necessary procedural conditions to have been met, seeking to compel municipalities to comply with the legal provisions governing Municipal Youth Councils.
According to the published survey, the threat covers 13 municipalities: Albufeira, Alcoutim, Aljezur, Castro Marim, Faro, Lagoa, Monchique, Olhão, São Brás de Alportel, Silves, Tavira, Vila do Bispo, and Vila Real de Santo António.
Source: Sul Informação
Photo credit: CDS-PP Algarve
