A delegation from the Left Bloc, with João Vasconcelos, deputy elected by the Algarve, met, last Monday, February 25, with the directors of Algfuturo and Núcleo de Faro of the League of Combatants, as well as with the association UNIR.
For the Algarve deputy, "it is important to hear and know the whole reality of the Algarve, to more easily act in favor of balanced regional development and a better quality of life for its populations".
At the meeting with the management of the Algfuturo business association, held in the morning, the association's programmatic lines were presented, which address the problems of seasonality and territorial cohesion in the Algarve.
The association “converges with the Left Bloc in defense of the creation of the Algarve's administrative region, therefore, both favorable to the implementation of regionalization, as a factor for valuing the region's identity and promoting more and better democracy. For the Bloc, without regionalization there is no real decentralization of competences».
João Vasconcelos presented the political priorities of BE in the district of Faro, highlighting the fight against precariousness and the right to work with rights, the improvement of public services in the Algarve, with emphasis on the National Health Service, the fight for better mobility, with the abolition of tolls on Via do Infante and the modernization of the regional railway, the protection of the environment, the commitment to renewable energies and economic diversification, the right to housing for all and the fight against the municipalization of universal access social services, among other aspects.
The Blocist deputy also expressed his concern with the ongoing decentralization process, the result of an agreement between the PS and the PSD, which, in his opinion, is being poorly conducted. "In this context, universal access services, such as health and education, are a matter of concern for the Bloc, and the central state cannot assume responsibility for them, as is the case with the current process in progress", says the BE.
Another concern and reason for warning "is housing, namely the lack of supply and the speculative prices of what is available on the rental market."
The Bloc stressed, at the end of the meeting, "that it is important not to forget that, in the framework of a thriving regional economy, the improvement of working conditions for workers from all sectors in the Algarve must be guaranteed."
In the afternoon, at the meeting with the League of Combatants, its president and the president of the Núcleo de Faro presented the Combatant Statute, the deputy referring that the Parliamentary Defense Commission presented a proposal to the Government so that, even in this legislature, all dispersed legislation in this area could be brought together, as well as the implementation of some proposals for the Combatant Statute, which meet the demands of the military.
It was also made known that the League of Combatants has a proposal to erect in Faro a monument in honor of the dead of World War I.
In the late afternoon, and already in Loulé, the Algarve parliamentarian visited the UNIR association, which has been in existence for 16 years and supports 22 adult users with mental problems, aiming at their socio-family and professional reintegration.
“The Association warned that mental illness was forgotten by the Government. Although there is some support, this is insufficient given the numerous expenses that the Association faces on a daily basis».
Finally, the blocistas were alerted to the fact that the Hospital Center of the Algarve is not providing answers for the mental illness in the district of Faro.
«The psychiatric service of the hospital in Faro it does not have an emergency service and, in cases of crisis, the patient is referred to the normal emergency room, being screened together with the other patients, and then referred to the respective department. But due to poor articulation within the hospital, users are “lost” and sometimes, instead of being referred to psychiatry, end up returning home. This is a serious gap, which reveals the lack of sensitivity to these pathologies, and which must be quickly resolved», concludes the BE.
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