In the Algarve, only three municipalities approved, on their own initiative, changes in the map of their parishes: Albufeira, Loulé and Vila do Bispo.
All the others either spoke out against or, according to the criteria of the Law that provides for the administrative reorganization, will not be subject to any alteration as they have less than five parishes.
In Albufeira, the aggregation of the parish of Olhos d'Água with that of Albufeira is foreseen, in Loulé there will be three parishes to be merged into one – Querença, Tôr and Benafim -, while in Vila do Bispo, Raposeira will add- if Vila do Bispo.
The Committee of the Assembly of the Republic, which will now define the future map, should also decide for the extinction and merger of more parishes in other municipalities, namely in Alcoutim, Faro, Lagoa, Lagos, Olhão, Silves and Tavira, even against the will of the populations and their local elected representatives – in the Chambers and Municipal Assemblies.
This process of the predicted extinction of about 1500 parishes nationwide is yet another example of how the current government is trying to cover the sun with a sieve.
The reason invoked by the Government, through its minister Relvas, is that this is a measure to reduce State expenditure, to reduce such fat, and results from the commitment assumed with the Troika.
But parishes represent only 1% of all expenditure, so what you get is residual savings, which do not even minimally compensate for the social uproar that the issue of parishes has caused throughout the country.
If the government was really interested in slimming down the state, what it should do was not start with the parishes, but with the municipalities. There are many municipalities, including in the Algarve, that could benefit from joining together.
The Government did not advance there because, if the issue of parishes has already caused so many protests, imagine what it would not be like if Passos Coelho decided to talk about the extinction and aggregation of councils. Carmo and Trindade fell.
In relation to the Algarve, I must say that it seems to me that there would only be a gain, from the point of view of scale and even the interest of the population, if Lagoa was added to Portimão, that São Brás was once again connected to Faro, that Aljezur and Vila do Bispo merge or that Vila Real de Santo António, Castro Marim and Alcoutim merge into a single municipality.
In fact, in the latter case, in August, a proposal by the PS to that effect was approved at the Vila Real de Santo António Municipal Assembly. Immediately the mayors of Alcoutim and Castro Marim made their disagreement heard loudly.
Imagine what would happen across that country if one day someone had the courage to tinker with the geometry and arithmetic of the municipalities. But I am convinced that, sooner or later, this will have to happen!
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