"We are the region of the country where inequalities are greatest, where social injustices have been growing, where people have lower incomes," he said in an interview with the Lusa agency, stressing that "conditions will not be met for policies to overcome these great inequalities, conditions are not met to make social justice the top goal of regional policy, without the CDU being strengthened." Edgar Freitas Gomes Silva, who is 61 years old and lives in Funchal, the municipality where he was born on September 25, 1962, explained that the candidacy of the Democratic Unitarian Coalition (PCP/PEV) for the early elections of May 26 is based on the "central idea" that, 50 years after the Carnation Revolution, April is still to be fulfilled in Madeira and the great goals of democratizing, decolonizing and developing are to be completed. The candidate, also coordinator of the CDU and the Portuguese Communist Party in the region, considers that the "great social divides" are more accentuated in the archipelago than in the rest of the country and, therefore, he hopes that the electorate will reinforce the commitment to those who feel that Madeira is not condemned "to such great injustice, to such inequality". "We say that only with more CDU, with more votes and more elected officials will the conditions be created for this goal to be achieved," he declared. For Edgar Silva, a teacher and former priest, the CDU may benefit, in terms of electoral results, from the political crisis that led to the fall of the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP), following the process that is investigating suspicions of corruption in Madeira. "This political framework opens up different possibilities insofar as it allows us to say, in a way that people understand, that not everyone is the same, not everyone is involved in corruptible processes, that there are projects and there are people who for decades and decades have a practice of combating not only corruption, but also of political intervention, that there are serious people in these processes," he said. On the other hand, he explained that the CDU is not considering for now the possibility of understandings with other parties. "At this moment, we are not considering any [agreement], we do not have any perspective, any scenario at that level. I think that, at this moment, it does not even make sense to have any type of consideration regarding these issues," he said, stressing that the candidacy has nothing to negotiate, it has to "make commitments to the populations". According to Edgar Silva, who was elected deputy in the regional elections of September 2023, but gave up his seat to the number two on the list, the CDU's electoral manifesto presents a "wide range of proposals" that essentially aim at "development, democratization, decolonization". "Right away, in Madeira, whoever, speaking of the fight against injustices and inequalities, does not place as a top issue the problem of wages is not being serious," he argued, stressing that this is the region of the country with the lowest wages, while 58% of wealth is concentrated in a "minority of 5% of the population". The CDU therefore wants to implement wealth redistribution policies, as well as active social policies. "These are fundamental elements to overcome this framework in which we live, which is intolerable, which is unacceptable, no matter how much people seem accustomed to inequality, to injustice," he said. In this context, he added, "significant increases" in wages, pensions and reforms are needed. "We do not embark on reducing the tax burden indiscriminately, it cannot be. Some [taxes] have to increase much more," explained the communist leader, referring to the fact that some sectors that register high profits have to contribute more, such as banking, fuels, insurance companies, distribution companies and those in the energy sector. Edgar Silva, who has a degree in Theology, with master's degrees in Systematic Theology and History of Religion and a doctorate in Social History, has been a member of the PCP since 1999, but was elected deputy to the regional parliament for the first time in 1996, a situation that was repeated in all legislative elections since then. In the regional elections of September 24, 2023, the CDU's candidacy elected one deputy, out of a total of 47 that make up the parliament of Madeira, obtaining 3,677 votes (2.79%), out of a universe of 135,446 voters. The early elections of May 26 take place eight months after the most recent regional legislative elections, after the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, dissolved the Madeiran parliament, following the political crisis triggered in January, when the leader of the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP), Miguel Albuquerque, was named a defendant in a process in which suspicions of corruption are being investigated. Read Also: Madeira. PTP wants to return to parliament and is available for agreements (Portuguese version)