The Mayors of Ponte de Lima (1822-2020)

Fernando de Sousa, Manuel Pires Ribeiro, Ricardo Rocha e Diogo Ferreira

This two-volume work presents the biographies of the seventy-six personalities who, in the span of almost two centuries, led the local government of Ponte de Lima, with particular emphasis on the activity carried out during their respective mandates. The biographies are preceded by an extensive study that includes, among other aspects, a historical note on the Municipality of Ponte de Lima, from the granting of the charter to the founding of the modern municipality, and the successive changes to its geographical limits; the legal framework of the Ponte de Lima municipal govenrment and its Mayors, addressing their duties and powers, in light of the legislation produced during this period, as well as the evolution of their degree of autonomy; the form of acquisition and duration of their mandates; and the individual and collective characterization of the Mayors of Ponte de Lima, particularly regarding the number and duration of mandates, geographic and socio-professional origin, age at inauguration and political career. This study ends with a reflection on the main aspects of the political role of the Mayors of Ponte de Lima and the effective importance of this position, also seeking to establish a profile of the group as a whole, that give them cohesion as a particular group in the local society and make them an integral part of the Municipality and its history, on a symbolic and material level.

Note: Due to publishing rights, only the first pages of the work are available. The book is available at CEPESE's Library.