She was the first woman from São Roque do Pico to chair a Municipal Assembly in the post-April 25 period. The year was 1976 and the municipal executive of São Roque was led by António Simas da Costa, elected by the PPD/PSD.
If today the surname Freitas is known in regional politics, it must be said that Maria Pinheiro Ávila Freitas was the first one in her family to hold a political office, although it was not premeditated.
She was a teacher, had been married for 12 years and had two small children when, at the age of 35, she was sworn in as President of the Municipal Assembly of São Roque do Pico. Ahead was a heavy burden: trying to impose order on that local authority body was quite different from doing it in a classroom. The biggest stumbling block was the fact that the Municipal Assembly Members did not look at a woman as an authority figure. "It was not easy," she tells us, but she did not give up. If her voice and presence were not enough, what she decided was a masterstroke: "I asked the mayor to buy a recorder for me to use in the assembly sessions." Faced with the equipment, Members changed their stance as all meetings were recorded. Still, there were many battles to fight. From her husband she received support; from her mother, less encouraging words, mostly out of concern. "She told me: 'What you got yourself into'", Freitas recalls. The mandate was fulfilled.
Some memories have faded, but Freitas is well aware of the importance of what she did and does not regret her participation in the municipality's political life.
Later on, it was her husband, Mário Martins de Freitas, who embraced political life, as councilor of the Municipality of São Roque for PPD/PSD, from 1979 to 1989, as well as member of the Regional Parliament elected on October 5, 1980 and again on October 14, 1984; he would later also become President of the Municipal Assembly, from 1993 to 1996, the year in which he passed away.
A few weeks earlier, their oldest son, Duarte Freitas, had been elected for the first time as Regional Parliament Deputy for PSD by the constituency of Pico. His political record is already a long one: deputy mayor of São Roque do Pico, member of the Regional Parliament (1996-2004) and Member of the European Parliament (2004-2009). In 2009, he returned to the Azorean hemicycle and then was elected President of PSD/Azores (2012); in 2020 Freitas took office as Regional Secretary for Youth, Employment and Professional Qualification and, in 2022, took the Finance, Planning and Public Administration folder.
Her son Mário Freitas was President of the Parish Council of São Roque do Pico for three consecutive mandates and, since October 2021, he has been a councilor on the Municipality of São Roque. Only her youngest son, Tiago Freitas, has pursued other activities, although he has been at the center of EU policy-making as a European Commission official.
Seeing her children's path in politics leaves her with a full heart, although there is also some concern and sadness: "People think they can do everything, solve all situations, because of their jobs, but it is not so."
From Pico to Terceira
Born in São Roque do Pico, Maria Ávila Freitas had to leave her father's home to pursue her studies in Horta, Faial, because it was not possible to do so in Pico.
It was thanks to a suggestion from prominent doctor Tibério d'Ávila Brasil that Maria went, at the age of 18, to teaching school ("Magistério"), on the island of Terceira, something that had never crossed her mind. "Doctor Tibério was sorry that his daughter had not attended teaching school, so he told my father that I should go," she tells us.
Maria thus went to "Magistério" with some colleagues from Liceu da Horta but, whenever possible, she returned to Pico for a few days with her family. The boat trips were long and included many stops.
But it would be on Terceira Island that she would find love; a “beautiful voice” that many heard on the radio, “Radio Clube de Angra”: the renowned host Mário Martins de Freitas. It is noteworthy that, in the book “Radio Clube de Angra – A Voz da Terceira”, Pedro de Merelim refers to Mário Freitas as one of the true symbols of the media in his time.
They got married in 1964 and moved permanently to Pico.
Throughout her teaching career, Maria Pinheiro practically only taught on the island of Pico, with the exception of her first year, as she taught in Serra de Santiago, Terceira Island, and one month in the city of Horta, in Faial.
It is worth mentioning that, in São Roque, she was part of the group of teachers who gave classes outside their working hours to young people who wanted to go further in their studies, before there was a primary and secondary school in the municipality; this episode in her life is yet another reason for pride.
