Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was this Saturday in Faro and he did not escape speaking to dozens of protesters against the exploitation of hydrocarbons off the Costa Vicentina. The President of the Republic assured anti-petroleum activists that at the moment only one of the five concessions granted by the previous government, Galp/Eni, is still active, and he does not believe it has a great future.
"A year later, there is much more chance of reaching the moon than of having oil in the Algarve," he said, referring to a sentence he uttered in Loulé, in July, before protesters against oil exploration in the Algarve. At the time, he stated that oil exploration in the Algarve «is almost like going to the moon, in fact it is easier for me to go to the moon».
The protesters were not reassured by the guarantees given by the President, who came to Faro to close the Congress «For the Excellence of the Algarve Economy», of the Algfuturo association. This is because they do not believe that there is only one active concession, as they argue that the Repsol/Partex consortium still retains the rights to prospect and eventually explore hydrocarbons.
On the other hand, they say there are plans to drill off Aljezur, the concession that is still active, in April, when an important part of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa's argument was linked to the fact that the consortium had eight months to drill the drilling hole. – “which is not an exploration”, he recalled – and that “three months have passed and he still hasn't done anything”.
In addition to the anti-oil activists, the islanders of Culatra also took advantage of the President of the Republic's visit to Faro to try to raise awareness of the issue of demolitions on the Ria Formosa barrier islands. In this case, the SOS Ria Formosa/Je Suis Ilhéu movement managed to “win” an audience with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in Belém, which will now be scheduled.
The arrival of homeowners from the nuclei of the FaroLe Hangares da Ilha da Culatra ended up joining the ranks of the demonstration, which had started very early on Saturday. At 9:00 am, around two dozen people gathered in front of the Algarve Hotel and Tourism School (EHTA), in Faro, waiting to “catch” the Minister of Economy.
Manuel Caldeira Cabral ended up not attending and the Secretary of State for Tourism, who was in the Algarve to represent him, also did not use the main entrance to access the EHTA. This did not stop the protesters from shouting slogans and it did not prevent some moments of tension, when the police ordered the activists to place themselves in an area previously delimited by stalls, with some protesters resisting.
In the school's auditorium, the work was carried out normally, oblivious to the demonstration that was taking place abroad. Throughout the day, there was talk of tourism, but also of alternative ways of economic development in the Algarve, through investment in the productive sectors and regional products.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was responsible for making the final balance of the event, when he took the opportunity to affirm his passion for the Algarve and conveying the message that it believes that there are all conditions for the Algarve region to have tourism all year round, as long as the sector's agents' strategy is oriented in this direction and is strongly committed to tourism niches other than Sol e Praia.
The President of the Republic did not go home empty-handed, as Algfuturo made a point of offering him, in the middle of the closing session of Congress, a painting that intends to represent the soul of the Algarve.
See photos of the demonstration and the conference:
Photos: Hugo Rodrigues/Sul Informação | Claudia Vargues
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