2017 was the year of Local Elections, but these were not the ones that brought great changes to the Algarve. Only in Vila Real de Santo António was there a change of mayor, with Conceição Cabrita taking the place of Luís Gomes, who could not re-apply. However, the Algarve underwent changes in Health, Education, Culture, infrastructure, with the (almost) completion of the redevelopment of the EN125 between Vila do Bispo and Olhão, and in sports, with the return of Portimonense to the Primeira Liga.
The fight against oil exploration in the region and the good tourist performance carried over from 2016, the fires gave truce, but the region had to deal with a new problem: the drought.
Remember, through the work of the Sul Informação, how was the year 2017, month by month:
January
The death of Mário Soares marked the beginning of 2017. The former prime minister and former president of the Republic, who had a deep connection to the Algarve, where his wife Maria Barroso was born, died at the age of 91 years. Record here a conversation with one of the greatest figures in politics in Portugal.
The requalification works on the EN125, in the section between Vila do Bispo and Olhão, stopped in the summer of 2016 and only started again in January 2017, but little…Pedro Marques, Minister of Planning and Infrastructure came to the Algarve ensure that the works would be ready by June 30th.
On the Algarve Line, the government official, days later, guaranteed that the railroad electrification process would start in the first month of the year.
Candidates for the October local elections began to line up. In Faro, António Eusébio, from PS, was available to try to dethrone Rogério Bacalhau.
Health services were once again on the agenda in 2017 and the ARS Algarve announced, early this year, that it had 11 million euros to invest in hospitals in the region.
In sport, the month of January was marked by the Final Four of the League Cup, which was played at Estádio Algarve. Benfica, Sporting de Braga, Vitória de Setúbal and Moreirense competed for the trophy, with Moreira de Cónegos' team lifting the cup at the end.
the fire that partially destroyed the Palácio da Fonte da Pipa, in Loulé, also marked the first month of the year. The rest of 2017 did not bring any clues to the future of that space.
The threat of bird flu has returned to the Algarve after finding a heron infected with the virus, in the municipality of Loulé.
February
The map of candidates for the Municipal Councils of the Algarve started to fill up and you can remember it here.
The works on the EN125 (re)began to cause the first inconveniences and there was even talk of cutting off the most important road in the region for six days, something that did not happen, opting instead for alternating circulation.
What also didn't help the work was the heavy rain on February 11th, which caused floods in Monte Gordo, Tavira and Vila Real de Santo António.
On the 19th of February, the Volta ao Algarve ended, with the Algarve's Amaro Antunes winning the last stage. However, the Yellow Jersey went to Primoz Roglic, from Team Lotto.
Martim Gracias, the first mayor of Portimão, after the 25th of April, died on the 20th of February and it would be the first in a list of notables from the Algarve who died in 2017.
The dust came from North Africa and caused a mud shower on the 23rd, who “painted” cars from Windward to Sotavento brown.
Saúde saw changes with the replacement of the president of ARS Algarve: Paulo Morgado replaced Moura Reis.
February is the month of Carnival and if, in Loulé, there was a "Big Gizmo" in 2017, in Alte there was… Maria Leal.
March
The administrative takeover of the last houses, for demolition, on Ilha da Culatra, ended in early March. After the fruitless struggle of the islanders, they were waiting for a miracle from Our Lady of Fatima.
2017 was once again a dark year on the roads of the Algarve and on 3rd March, in Estômbar, a collision between two cars, on the EN125, left one dead and two injured. On the 16th, a collision near Kadoc, on the border between the municipalities of Albufeira and Loulé, injured six people.
In Tavira, Macário Correia accused colleagues from administration of the Irene Rolo Foundation to use the IPSS for their own benefit, in a Facebook post, and resigned as president. THE Social Security opened an audit of the institution days later. The result of this audit is still unknown.
The President of the Republic visited the Algarve on March 19, with oil exploration on the order of the day. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, before the protesters, reaffirmed that «there is much more chance of reaching the moon than of having oil in the Algarve», in an allusion to a phrase he uttered, a year earlier, on his first official visit to the region.
With Local Elections on the horizon, in Portimão, PSD and CDS-PP sought to understand each other to form a coalition to defeat Isilda Gomes, from PS, in the race for City Hall. O white smoke about the candidate, José Pedro Caçorino, militant of the centrists, appeared on 20 March.
The state of health in the Algarve continued to be a concern. The Parliamentary Health Commission visited the region in March and deputies heard the same complaints they had heard a year and a half earlier, when they had also visited the Algarve's hospitals.. Days later, the announcement of the president of ARS Algarve that the Algarve Hospital Center (CHA) would be replaced by the Algarve University Hospital Center (CHUA).
On March 23, it snowed in Monchique in the afternoon, but the flakes did not arrive to paint Foia with a white cloak.
The smugglers returned to Alcoutim on March 26, for a festival that linked Sanlúcar de Guadiana to the Algarve village, through a pedestrian bridge, and that even made the finance minister happy.
The IKEA store in Loulé opened its doors on March 30th but a week before the opening, the death of an employee overshadowed the opening of the commercial space.
April
The month of April started with a open warfare between the Câmara de Lagoa and the Algarve Wine Commission. All because the municipality of Lagos registered the brand “Lagoa Capital dos Vinhos do Algarve” which, for the CVA, was a “unilateral proclamation of the title”, colliding with the brand “Vinhos do Algarve”.
2017 was a year in which Algarve projects saw their success recognized abroad. On April 12th, the unit of Rural Tourism «Casa Modesta», in Quatrim do Sul, Moncarapacho, won the Jury Prize in the international architecture awards Architizer A+Awards, in the Hotels & Resorts category.
The move of the BPM festival to Praia da Rocha, in Portimão, after the event was banned in Mexico after a shooting, was also known in the fourth month of the year. The festival would take place in September, without major incidents.
On April 18th, started the demolitions on the island of Farol, after administrative swearing-in, by the Polis Society, in March.
Bad weather returned to the Algarve on April 21st and forced to postpone the free practice of the Motor Boat Grand Prix, in Portimão. In Faro, strong winds also wreaked havoc, destroying the Nautical Center pier.
In sport, Portimonense guaranteed his return to the Primeira Liga on 23 April. The feat of Vítor Oliveira's men had the right to a big party.
May
Hydrocarbon prospecting works in Costa Vicentina were suspended by the court on May 4, after an injunction filed by the Municipality of Odemira had been evaluated.. However, as José Alberto Guerreiro, president of the Chamber, warned, “the fact that the measure was accepted does not mean that the situation is resolved”. And it wasn't.
May was an important month for the Roman city of Balsa, in Tavira. While the first archaeological excavations were taking place, started the process for the classification of the Ferry as a Site of Public Interest and to expand the protection zone.
The PS in Olhão was “at war” during the month of May. THE council did not accept António Pina's re-candidacy to the Chamber of Olhão, having the decision passed to the hands of the Algarve Federation of the party. At the end of the month, Luciano Jesus announced the resignation of the post of president of PS/Olhão and showed the opening to head an independent candidacy. It would eventually apply with the support of PSD and CDS.
The EN125 continued to “harvest” lives and, on the 14th of May, a motorbike crash, in the Estômbar area, caused one dead and one serious wounded.
Faro lived a «historic day» on May 16, after having paid 4,94 million euros for the total repayment of the loan taken out under the Financial Rebalancing Plan. This payment allowed the municipality to "recover autonomy" and move towards the execution of the program's works. Faro Requalify.
O Sul Informação was also awarded in 2017. The journalist Pedro Lemos was awarded 2nd place in the Sport with Ethics Award for the Regional Press, promoted by the Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth (IPDJ) and the Association of Sport Journalists (CNID), under the National Plan of Ethics for Sport (PNED).
After winning the promotion in April, on May 21st, Portimonense also secured the title of National Champion of the II League.
It was also in this month that the Portimão Chamber formalized its candidacy for the European City of Sport in 2019, but without "pharaonic works".
June
On June 5, work began on the Guadiana Bridge which, according to Pedro Marques, Minister of Planning and Infrastructure, will be «ready to face several decades», when the jobs are completed.
The possibility of the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve receiving Formula 1 is not from 2017, but the news of the great circus to be close to coming to Portimão was given a little by all around the world. However, despite the existence of contacts, this was «not news».
Work on the EN125 continued in June, but in Lagoa, archaeological finds forced the construction of one of the new roundabouts to be stopped.
The District Command of Faro PSP has seen changes. Abreu Matos was exonerated from his position, something he did not expect for the work he developed, as he confessed in an interview with Sul Informação.
On June 12th, the first forest fire of considerable proportions broke out, near Marmelete, in Monchique. The flames were fought by firefighters from all over the Western Algarve and consumed a new vehicle from the Fire Department of Portimão, which the mayors of Monchique and Portimão helped to replace him.
The fire also destroyed vehicles in Faro. 40 cars belonging to the rent-a-car company Zitauto, which were parked in a warehouse in Patacão, were consumed by fire in a fire that also injured a firefighter..
The new president of the General Council of the University of Algarve was known in June. Entrepreneur Vítor Neto was chosen, in a month when António Branco announced that he would not re-apply for the position of dean of the Algarve academy.
After having announced that he would be willing to lead an independent candidacy for the Chamber of Olhão, Luciano Jesus, former president of the PS council, confirmed that he would run for local authority with the support of the PSD, CDS-PP, MPT and PPM.
About two tons of hashish were seized on June 24, during a discharge on a beach near the Sagres Promontory.. In the operation of the Judiciary Police, seven people were arrested, all residents of the Barlavento Algarve.
The violence in Oura, Albufeira, was in the news, both in Portugal and abroad, and Desidério Silva, president of the Algarve Tourism Region, he was concerned about the image of the region beyond its borders.
The 30th of June should have marked the end of work on the EN125, but that's not what happened. Work was not completed at various points along the road and were to be resumed after 31 August.
July
On the first day of the month, the Sul Informação walked along the EN125 and found that, despite some advances, the works were still far from finished.
Work on this road, which should have been completed by June 30, continued into July. By the middle of the month, most of the interventions were completed and were circulating without restrictions. At the time, Rui Sousa, executive director of the sub-concessionaire Rotas do Algarve Litoral (RAL), responsible for the works on the EN125 between Vila do Bispo and Olhão, he stated that this road was already a "real alternative to Via do Infante".
Before the month was over, the EN125 was in the news again. First, due to continuous traces that were placed and were the target of strong contestation. Later, because there were houses located along this road without water or sewage, a situation that the mayor of Loulé attributed to Rotas do Algarve Litoral.
The works of the new terminal at the Airport of Faro, which was inaugurated on the 17th of July by Prime Minister António Costa.
July was also the month in which the creation of the Hospital and University Center of the Algarve was finally approved by the Council of Ministers.
This approval took place on the same day that Joaquim Ramalho, chairman of the Board of Directors of the then Centro Hospitalar do Algarve, opened the doors of the Hospital of Faro to show some of the investments that had already been made and that would still be made.
It was also in this month that the Algarve "won" another representative in the Government, in this case Miguel Freitas, who assumed the portfolio of Secretary of State for Forests and Rural Development.
As the 2017 Municipalities approached, the choices of the different parties were defined. In Vila do Bispo, the PSD bet on Afonso Nascimento, who, in 2013, had been elected as councilor by the PS.
In Monchique, the murder of a taxi driver on the terrace of a cafe, stirred up this county from the interior. The 70-year-old victim was hit by two shots fired by a man who intended to hit someone else.
A few days later, Loulé recovered one of his ex-libris, Café Calcinha, which reopened after renovation works, with a new concept.
And, as has been happening for many years, Faro was once again invaded by thousands of bikers, who insisted on participating in yet another International Motorcycle Concentration of the Motoclube de Faro.
August
The month in which many decide to head to the Algarve to spend their holidays was marked by a new change in the management model of the Algarve's hospitals, by the usual summer parties, but also by fires, which, despite having frightened them, were quickly overcome, and also by new ones. projects.
It was in August that The Algarve Hospital and University Center was officially born, which includes not only the region's hospitals, but also a research center of the University of Algarve and the Center for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of the South.
A responsibility for managing this new structure was assigned to a team led by Ana Paula Gonçalves, who had previously directed the Hospital of Faro, before the merger of this health unit with the Centro Hospitalar do Barlavento Algarvio.
In the first days of the month, two fires, one in Faz Fato, in the municipality of Tavira, the other in Lagos, made the news. Tavira's fire forced the mobilization of six air assets and ended up defeated in a few hours. Also in Lagos it was possible to quickly control the fire that broke out there, but that didn't prevent a section of the A22 was closed to transit.
The death of the Loulé researcher Luís Guerreiro was another of the news that marked the present, in August. At the time of his death, president of the Manuel Viegas Guerreiro Foundation, from Querença (Loulé), dedicated a good part of his life to the cultural area, a legacy praised by those who knew him best.
Also in Loulé, the Quinta da Ombria development began to be built, after nearly three decades of controversy. At the first stone laying ceremony, those responsible for the project left guarantees of environmental and social sustainability, two of the main reasons that led environmental associations (and not only) to try to stop this project by various means.
In the nucleus of Hangars of Ilha da Culatra, the XNUMXth anniversary of the Algarve Maritime Aviation Center was celebrated. And there are still those who remember the presence of the pilots, who offered milk loaves to the children of the island, and of the seaplanes mooring in Praça Larga.
On the day of the ceremony, those who attended the Hangars they were not only able to watch a ditching live, but they also learned firsthand that the Portuguese Navy intends to reactivate the base it maintains in the Culatra.
In sports, the month was marked by Portimonense's debut in the I Liga, where he returned this season. The team from Portimão even started the championship in the best way, with a victory over Boavista, but ended up by show difficulties in the opening run of the championship, which came to resolve later.
In another modality, cycling, the Algarve was highlighted in the Volta a Portugal. The Algarve's Amaro Antunes was second overall and Vicente de Mateos, from Louletano-Hospital de Loulé, secured third place in this competition, which was won by Spaniard Raúl Alarcón.
And August, in the Algarve, would not be the same without the parties and fairs. Olhão had his Festival do Marisco, Fatacil animated Lagoa, Loulé dressed in whiteo, and the region returned to the past, first in the Silves Medieval Fair and later on Medieval Days of Castro Marim.
September
The month that preceded the municipal elections was a time to make an x-ray to the Algarve councils. O Sul Informação published 16 articles, one for each municipality in the region, focused on an infographic made from data advanced by Pordata, commented by a local personality.
Journalists, businessmen, artists and association leaders accepted our newspaper's invitation and helped to diagnose their councils.
However, the region went into electoral campaign mode and the different parties showed the cards they had in their hands.
O PS and CDU they went to all, that is, they presented candidates for president in the 16 municipalities of the region. already the PSD, did not have, for the first time, a top list for all the cameras in the Algarve. O CDS presented candidates to 14 Chambers, while the Left Block was voted in 11 municipalities in the Algarve.
O PAN, with three candidates for Chambers, and the We Citizens, with two, increased the choice of voters. And there was also six independent applications the Chambers of the region, among which one based on love.
Em Faro, on the final stretch of a summer in which there was no shortage of tourists, accommodation for students at the University of the Algarve was scarce.
In Estoi, in the same municipality, the problem was not who was arriving, but the departure of the parish priest, transferred to another location, a decision by the Diocese that prompted protests from parishioners.
In the Mata do Ludo, enter Faro and Loulé, a fire startled the population and even arrived to force the evacuation of a restaurant. The flames caused material damage, but there were no victims to mourn.
In Alvor, the project for a new hotel of Grupo Pestana was presented, an investment of 50 million that is expected to create 300 jobs.
In the area of health, there was a guarantee, from the Regional Health Administration of the Algarve, that the region would end the year with more family doctors than at the end of 2016.
Also those who have to travel between Faro and São Brás de Alportel received good news, that the tender for the construction of a roundabout on the EN2, next to the access to the A22, was launched.
Bad was the news from increase in deaths and serious injuries on the roads of the Algarve, in the first eight months of the year, and of the death of Joaquim Guerreiro, the creator of the F and MED festivals. Joaquim Guerreiro died on the same day the fourth edition of the F Festival ended, which reached record numbers.
October
On the first day of October, the Algarvians went to the polls to choose their representatives in the different municipal bodies and the Sul Informação he was once again on top of the subject, with the release of the results at the time they were officially known.
The Autárquicas 2017, in the Algarve, were marked by continuity, as no Chamber changed color and there was only a change of president in Vila Real de Santo António, where Luís Gomes could no longer re-apply, having won until then vice president Conceição Cabrita.
The PS turned out to be the big winner of election night, not only because it kept the 10 Chambers it had before, but also because it increased the number of councilors, but it was not the only one. PAN and Nós Cidadãos managed to elect, for the first time, a candidate, in this case, the Municipal Assemblies.
In the aftermath of the elections, the leader of the PS/Algarve António Eusébio, who ended up losing to Rogério Bacalhau in the fight for the Chamber of Faro, stressed the "beautiful result" achieved by his party. David Santos, president of the PSD/Algarve, expected «better results».
Almost everyone who was president on 30 September saw their position strengthened in the elections on 1 October. The exception was the social democrat Francisco Amaral, who despite remaining in the presidency of the Chamber of Castro Marim, lost the absolute majority, in the dispute he had with «two heavyweights».
About two weeks later, the swearing in of municipal bodies began. And with surprises. In Faro, the socialist Luís Graça was elected president of the Municipal Assembly, when the social democrat Cristóvão Norte was expected to be elected to this position. But the PSD candidate did not get votes from all the elements elected by his party for the AM of Faro, which dictated his defeat.
Unsurprisingly, it took place the re-election of Jorge Botelho as president of AMAL – Algarve Intermunicipal Community.
Other elections that gave rise to talk were those for the rectory of the University of the Algarve. There were 12 candidates for the position, many of them foreigners, but, at first, only two were admitted by the Electoral Commission., who considered that Paulo Águas, a professor at the institution and at the time vice-rector, but from the Polytechnic subsystem, was not eligible.
Paulo Águas, as well as Pedro Caetano, another of the rejected candidates, appealed this decision . The General Council, the body responsible for electing the UAlg rector, agreed with the vice-rector and accepted his candidacy.. Pedro Caetano was left out.
In October, the “365Algarve” returned to the region. In its second edition, the cultural program that aims to energize the region during the low tourist season tightened the net, in choosing the projects to support, and bet on anchor events.
Still in the field of culture, it became known that Mendes Bota was the winner of the Maria Veleda award, awarded by the Regional Directorate of Culture of the Algarve.
The adventures of a fox, in Ilha de Tavira, were also in the news. The Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests well tried to catch the animal, but without success. turned out to be a couple managing to capture the fox, which was hosted by the RIAS wildlife recovery center.
On another barrier island in Ria Formosa, that of Culatra, the population of the housing nucleus with the same name as the island received the long-awaited news that they will be able to legalize their homes.
In sport, Olhanense, Portimonense and Farense reached the 3rd round of the Portuguese Cup, but only the last two moved on, since the Olhão group is over defeated by Benfica, at Estádio Algarve.
Portimonense also managed to reach the group stage of the League Cup, but in the first game they lost to Vitória de Setúbal, compromising the aspirations of moving forward, in a group that also included Benfica and Sporting de Braga.
November
The Algarve was spared the scourge of large fires in 2017. Although there were more fires this year, compared to last year, the burnt area in the Algarve has decreased, and a lot, as indicated by the data released by the Civil Protection.
Fires were not a serious problem, unlike what happened in other regions of the country, but the Algarve was not immune to the effects of the prolonged drought. The biggest difficulties, as he found out, on the ground, the Sul Informação, they live in the northeast of the Algarve, where farmers and goat farmers have stated their great concern about the lack of rain and available water.
On the coast, the water that was still stored in the region's dams and the guarantee that water would not be lacking in the taps, left (almost) everyone calm. Outside the dams, namely in Ribeira do Vascão, doubts arose about the quality of the water, with the association Cumeadas, from Alcoutim, warning of a potential relationship between the contamination of this watercourse and the death of animals.
And it was thinking about the quality of water naturally available on our planet that it was launched the UNESCO Chair in Ecohydrology at the University of Algarve, a structure that will lead the global fight to ensure the health of this essential good.
In November, the Algarve's public higher education institution won not only a UNESCO chair, but also a new rector, Paulo Águas, who won a fierce vote and went down in history as the first professor of Polytechnic education to occupy the chair of Rector of a Portuguese university.
Paulo Águas succeeded António Branco, who took stock of the four years in which he ran UAlg in an interview with Sul Informação and to Rádio Universitária do Algarve. In this conversation, the outgoing dean spoke the relationship between the university and the region, which gained new breath, but also of the Technological Pole that will soon be a reality.
Although the end of the year is approaching and the promises made, the work on the EN125, between Olhão and Vila Real de santo António, continued to be a mirage. Jorge Botelho, president of AMAL – Algarve Intermunicipal Community, highlighted the fact that there is still no competition launched and predicted that the works should only start in the last quarter of 2018.
The same Jorge Botelho, but as president of the Chamber of Tavira, also announced the renaturalization of Pego do Inferno, to avoid the massification of tourism, in this place,
Em Faro, was launched the tender for the new bridge to Praia de Faro, one of the last works that Sociedade Polis Ria Formosa will carry out. Also in the Algarve capital, Gil Silva was chosen as director of Teatro das Figuras.
The Algarve started counting with two more Michelin-starred restaurants, who joined the six in the region that have already deserved this prestigious recognition (two two stars, four ones).
A death of Cabrita Neto, who distinguished himself for his political activity – he was Civil Governor and deputy to the Assembly of the Republic, among others – also marked the present of November.
Farense and Portimonense competed for another round of the Portuguese Cup, but only the team of Faro managed to stay in the competition. the farense eliminated Leixões and went to the round of XNUMX. Portimonense was beating Porto, at Dragão, until near the end, but fell in discounts.
December
As the end of the year approached, the different Councils of the Algarve presented their Municipal Budgets. In Castro Marim, where Francisco Amaral (PSD) lost the absolute majority, the executive's budget proposal was rejected by the opposition, a rejection that led the Castro-Marinean mayor to declare "war" on the PS and José Estevens, elected councilor by the independent movement “Castro Marim Primeiro”.
And it wasn't just the lead in the budget that drew criticism from the executive's leader. Francisco Amaral he also saw the opposition making the development of the Odeleite River Beach project unfeasible, one of the flags he had been holding for years..
At the University of Algarve, the new rector took office with a blink of an eye to companies in the region and warnings to the Government.
Paulo Águas sent messages, but also received them, in this case from scholarship holders who are waiting to be hired by the University of Algarve, following the law that aims to end precariousness in the public sector. Investigators protested on the day of the Rector's inauguration and denounced that tomorrow, January 1st, many of the scholarship holders will lose their income.
In the first days of the month, the students of this institution chose Pedro Ornelas as president of the Academic Association for 2018.
The passage of Storm Ana left the country and the Algarve on alert and ended up leaving its mark, despite not having caused major damage in the region. Uprooted trees and tents from the Lagoa Christmas Fair in the air were the most significant episodes.
Meanwhile, news emerged that the Algarve's hospitals and Basic Emergency Services did not have doctors scheduled on several shifts in December, but Ana Paula Gonçalves, chairman of the Board of Directors of CHUA guaranteed that there would be no shortage of doctors in the emergency room.
In the cultural area, DiVaM closed yet another "successful" annual cycle, with an initiative in the Ermida da Guadalupe.
In another cultural program, “365Algarve”, there were changes. Dália Paulo, who, since 2016, has been the program's commissioner, accepted the invitation of the Loulé Chamber to occupy the position of Municipal Director. Anabela Afonso was chosen to be ahead of the “365Algarve” program.
The new commissioner of the program came into service at a time when there are already numbers to present, of the current edition of this initiative, which will last until May. Until the 19th of December, 365 thousand people had already gone through “44” events.
Mendes Bota, who stood out for his political activity, always at the service of the PSD, he received the Maria Veleda award, in recognition of the work he has done, as an MEP, in favor of women's rights.
In December, there were more games for both the Portuguese Cup and the League Cup. the farense went to the Azores to beat Praiense and ensured the passage to the quarter finals of the competition, which are played in January. Portimonense drew with Benfica in the light, in the second match of the group stage of the League Cup, but even so they stayed out of the Final Four (and out of Benfica). There would be another tie, this time with Braga, in a game in which both teams were just on schedule.
The year would not end without new news of a death, in this case of Hélder Renato Rodrigues, who presided over the PSD municipality of Portimão. The social-democratic activist was the victim of a sudden illness.
However, the year 2018 seems to be arriving with good omens, at least at the astronomical level: it is that tomorrow, January 1st, there will be a supermoon.
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