Former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Luís Campos Ferreira, is the new president of the executive committee of the Casa da América Latina, a non-profit association supported by the Lisbon City Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, embassies, and companies, which promotes cultural, economic, and institutional cooperation with countries in that region. He succeeds Alberto Laplaine Guimarães, who was removed from his position as secretary-general of the Lisbon City Council after being arrested as part of Operation Lúmen, which is investigating a corruption scheme involving the awarding of Christmas lighting contracts. Luís Campos Ferreira, a former PSD deputy for five terms and head of the Parliament Channel, was elected at the general assembly held this Thursday. He will combine his presidency of the Casa da América Latina with his duties as secretary-general of the UCCLA - Union of Capital Cities of Portuguese Language. The Casa da América Latina continues to have Carlos Moedas as its non-executive president, representing the Lisbon City Council, while Nuno Piteira Lopes, mayor of Cascais, remains at the head of the General Assembly Board. António Valle, director-general of the Lisbon Tourism Association, remains head of the Supervisory Board, and Ambassador António Almeida Lima will continue as vice-president of the executive committee. Created in 1998, the Casa da América Latina is a private, non-profit association that divides its activities between promoting economic and commercial relations between Portugal and Latin American countries, disseminating Latin American art and culture, and focusing on tropical medicine. Cultural policies of Portugal and Brazil at the Casa da América Latina.