Saul Rosa, 34 years old, born and resident in Vila Real de Santo António, is CEO of a hotel company in the Algarve, but keeps the flame of his passion for music alive, which he also studied, especially the trumpet. He is a member of the national political committee of the People Animals Nature (PAN) party and head of this party's list for the Legislative Elections on March 10, for the Algarve circle.
Now that the election campaign is underway, the Sul Informação The publication of interviews with the list leaders of the 15 parties or coalitions that are running for next month's Legislative Elections begins today.
The interviews will be published as responses reach our newsroom.
Sul Informação – What are the priorities of your political force in the next legislature for the Algarve?
Saul Rosa – Our priorities are, firstly, to fight for measures to conserve our natural heritage and its biodiversity, implement policies to mitigate the adverse consequences of climate change and seek economic alternatives to the massification of tourism and super intensive monocultures, such as environmental enhancement tourism, incentives for farmers producing organic and regenerative production in the region, as well as promoting the creation of digital jobs and in the renewable energy sector.
We also defend as priorities the creation of a line of direct cooperation between health professionals and users, so that gradual improvements can be implemented in the SNS in the region and in the country, such as the creation of more training offers, and the creation of ways of retaining healthcare professionals. health in areas where it is most lacking.
Another priority is the creation of the so-called “water pact”, so that all sustainable measures studied to improve water management in the region are applied, safeguarding families, small and medium-sized companies, and the environment.
Finally, it is our priority to encourage and protect the work of zoophilic associations so that legislative animal welfare measures are applied locally, and to fight for CROAs and CED programs in all municipalities in the district, through funding from the State Budget.
SI – What led you to accept being head of the PAN list?
SR – I am from the Algarve, born and raised in Vila Real de Santo António, and for years now I have been sad and a little angry at the way successive governments have looked at our region.
We are a district that, at times, seems like it is only used for vacations, for investing in the massification of tourism, and we are champions in the creation of golf courses and super intensive monocultures, which consume large amounts of water.
In terms of housing, we do not have an offer that keeps up with the needs of the region, public transport and its intermodality are an illusion, job offers are, for the most part, for precarious employment.
Our health professionals fight to ensure that users in the Algarve have access to health in a dignified manner, but they are forgotten by the government and are still considered villains for demanding better salaries and strategies involving housing and transport to be able to carry out their work and be able to be retained here.
We have to put pressure on the government and political decision-makers to prevent the successive destruction of fauna and flora.
I want a decent future for myself, for my countrymen and women and for future generations, and these were the solutions that PAN has always defended for all these problems, as well as the pragmatic way in which our party defends people, animals and society. nature, which made me a candidate for the PAN.
I deeply believe that, if we lived by the models that the PAN advocates for society, our nation would not be in the state it is in.
SI – What are the expectations and objectives of your political force in relation to these Legislative Elections?
SR – We want to elect a deputy. It is important to have a PAN representative for the Algarve circle in the Assembly of the Republic, to defend our region.
We are one of the areas most affected by climate change and it is urgent to break the uninterrupted cycle of irresponsible policies in this and other matters for our region.
SI – What remains to be done in the Algarve?
SR – Create an effective transport network, which does not forget any part of the Algarve, expanding the railway route, from Spain to Vila do Bispo, and with an assertive connection to Alentejo and Lisbon, ensuring territorial cohesion with road intermodality in the Algarve barrocal .
We need to increase the number of health professionals, have a central hospital and have effective measures to retain health professionals in the region.
We need to increase the public housing stock and increase the housing supply, through concise measures (which the PAN has in its electoral program).
We need to protect our environment and ecosystems more.
It is necessary to take effective measures to avoid the unrestrained use of our resources, without being held responsible for it.
We need to listen to our academic society, our civic movements, our associations.
We need to expand our training offer in the region.
Anyway, it would be easier to say what there is to do in the Algarve…
SI – Drought and lack of water are pressing issues in the Algarve. What solutions do you advocate, in the short term, knowing that the water currently available only arrives until August? And in the medium and long term?
SR – There is no silver bullet to change the water situation in the region tomorrow.
The measures will be in the medium and long term, due to the length of time during which policymakers ignored this problem. Anyone who says otherwise follows a narrative of pure demagoguery.
The PAN and environmental associations, as well as our academic society in the region, have tried to raise awareness among our political decision-makers about measures that can address poor water management in the region.
The PAN, in its program, has measures that provide solutions to mitigate this scourge.
However, irrigation areas continue to be expanded for intensive monocultures and golf courses, as can be seen in public consultations.
It's a matter of common sense, it's not even political.
Megalomaniac solutions, such as the desalination model envisaged in the region, in addition to not solving the problems of water shortages, will have harmful impacts on local biodiversity.
The Foupana dam, worth around 75 million euros, if built will be as empty as the others, and will only serve the interests of intensive monocultures, while small and medium production farmers are forgotten.
It is urgent to apply cohesive measures, such as the use of wastewater for golf courses and agriculture.
It is imperative to create rain collectors in buildings, as well as reducing losses by 30% in urban consumption systems.
These solutions should already be in progress.
SI – Health is a very deficient sector in the Algarve and in the country. What measures do you recommend to solve health problems in the Algarve?
SR – Measures to resolve health problems come from the following perspective: it is necessary to guarantee housing grants for our health professionals, in order to retain them here.
Access to decent transport is also a measure that will help in the health sector, because everything is interconnected. The lack of human resources in health is a social problem and not just the management of health units.
There are also measures at national level, such as salary increases and the voluntary exclusivity regime, which, if implemented, will certainly help to solve the problem.
At a post-management level, it is also necessary to take measures to anticipate the overcrowding of our units in high seasonal periods.
We also already have training offers, so our students must have guarantees so that they stay here and become our future health professionals.
SI – What about the Algarve Central Hospital? What should be done?
SR – It is necessary to build it once and for all, as we understand that the facilities of our units must be modernized and this is difficult to happen if we no longer have operational units.
It is necessary to facilitate the work of the new Local Health Unit. We already have two starting blocks for construction work on the Hospital. This demonstrates a total disregard for the health of the people of the Algarve.
SI – The Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve and the Regional Health Administration joined, from January 1st, into a single body, the Algarve Local Health Unit. What do you think of this change and what expectations do you have for your future?
SR – When I met with this new administration, together with our spokesperson Inês de Sousa Real, on January 31st, I came across a group of people who have a genuine desire to provide answers to our users' problems.
I am sure that they will serve health in the region in an exemplary way.
It is necessary to give them the necessary resources and tools so that their work is reflected in better primary care, shorter waiting lists, better screening and diagnoses, as well as treatments and surgeries to be carried out in the region.
I believe that, in the future, there will be more work on preventive health as well.
SI – The previous Government, now only in management, transformed the Regional Coordination and Development Commissions into Public Institutes, adding new functions (such as Agriculture and Fisheries, as well as Culture). What do you think of this change and what expectations do you have for your future? Is this a first step towards Regionalization?
SR – I believe so, that this is a step towards regionalization, but, from my perspective, it would be more important to address the issue of regionalization with Algarve civil society and with the remaining districts where the topic is debated, so that we know which the path to follow and its patterns, instead of gradually delegating the management of sectors to the CCDR.
SI – Are you for or against Regionalization? Why?
SR – I believe that the patterns of the process inherent to regionalization must be well analyzed before having a definitive perspective.
Personally, I am in favor of the Algarve having more autonomy, naturally, and I think that the opinion of citizens on this matter should be heard, through a referendum.
However, I would not like regionalization to simply translate into an administrative carte blanche for the CCDR, or a similar entity, to manage the region by decree, and without listening to its citizens, as, unfortunately, I believe has happened in recent years. years.
I am, therefore, cautious about regionalization, because, to have a perspective on the matter, we need to be presented with a plan, and what the costs of these plans will be.
Therefore, if there is regionalization on the continent, we have to foresee that, at least, there will be eight regionalization processes, based on the plans of the 1998 referendum.
SI – Will the integration of the former Regional Directorates of Culture and Agriculture and Fisheries into the CCDR have beneficial effects for these sectors or not?
SR – I believe that the integration of sectors in the CCDR can simplify public management, but the CCDR needs to get closer to citizens so that decisions reflect their needs.
Multilevel coordination with AMAL, in the management of aggregated sectors, can bring benefits, such as greater participation by municipalities and greater knowledge of local needs.
SI – What solutions do you recommend for tolls on Via do Infante?
SR – In a clear lack of transport responses in the region, it is natural for people to use their vehicles.
Furthermore, tolls are not a driver of settlement in the interior, as is the case in Barrocal Algarvio.
The solution is simple: abolish tolls on Via do Infante once and for all.
At the beginning of the campaign, people cannot forget something: the Socialist Party has been promoting the end of tolls on Via do Infante, but it is the Socialist Party itself that has maintained them.
Don't be fooled! The PS and PSD (now in AD format) already have a history of a thousand and one promises that they make in campaigns and then fail to fulfill most of them, if any at all.
SI – And for the completion of works on the EN125, from Olhão to Vila Real de Santo António?
SR – As a frequent user of this section, as I live in Sotavento, I know what it’s like to have to drive on this road.
Many families have already lost too many loved ones on the EN 125!
We recommend completing the requalification urgently, whatever the obstacles.
For this reason, it is also important to have a PAN deputy from the region defending the interests of the Algarve in the Assembly of the Republic, otherwise we will continue without requalifying one of the deadliest roads in the country.
SI – One of the biggest problems in the Algarve is mobility. Work is being carried out to electrify the Algarve Line, the creation of the Metrobus is expected and there is talk of a possible TGV connection between Faro and Huelva/Seville. What is your opinion on these issues and what solutions do you advocate?
SR – It is important to have an efficient transport system in the region. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to invest in smooth mobility. Our students pay for passes every month and, sometimes, they don't even have a way to catch transport near their areas of residence.
I think it's shameful that our teenagers have to pay to have access to transport, which, on top of that, doesn't meet their needs, especially those who are far from their schools and colleges. The same for our workers.
In Barrocal, then, territorial cohesion in terms of mobility is not even foreseen.
In urban centers, there are no cycle paths for smooth mobility.
I agree about high speed Spain/Portugal, and maybe I'll still live long enough to see a TGV Faro-Madrid, but to do so, it would be necessary to end bipartisanship in Portugal.
It is necessary to increase the sections of our railway, ensure road intermodality where the train does not reach, and have a single intermodal pass, fighting for its eventual free provision for younger generations, obtaining the revenue, for this, from taxes on the biggest polluters and who profits most.
SI – The president of the Algarve Tourism Region complained that the budget of this organization is short and has not been increased for many years. What do you recommend for this sector in the Algarve region?
SR – It is important that we move towards a sustainable tourism model that does not involve massification.
It is necessary to have tourism models based on environmental appreciation and quality, rather than quantity.
I think budgets and investments should go there.
Some problems related to water management and real estate speculation arise from heavy investment in tourism.
In 2023, the Algarve proved that investment in tourism is not just about funds. Even without budget changes, the region recorded a 6,4% increase in overnight stays and reached the incredible mark of 1,5 billion euros in revenue.
Hopefully, in the future, this will result in better working conditions for those who work in this sector.
SI – In the current Government, does Tourism share a State secretariat with Commerce and Services? Do you think it is enough? Or should a future Government give more importance to Tourism? In what way?
SR – The focus on tourism has diverted attention to social causes in the country, some of which were created by the tourist activity itself, therefore I believe that the ministerial office that encompasses tourism will be giving due attention to this sector.
SI – In the case of more divisive issues, will you vote for the AR according to your conviction, even if it goes against your party's guidelines?
SR – My convictions are PAN convictions and I will always defend the opinion of the collective.
It is teamwork that encompasses causes greater than personal opinions and convictions.
I am part of a group of people with a genuine interest in improving the country and my work must be reflected in enormous respect for these people, because I know that they think about our citizens, animal welfare, the protection of nature, and that's what matters: our causes, and our dedication to our citizens.
SI – Do you consider that it would be useful to change the electoral law, to create single-member and partial constituencies and a national compensation circle, and thus bring deputies closer to citizens? Why or why not?
SR – From my perspective, which converges with that of the party, I think we should maintain the multi-member cycle, but with a national compensation circle.
We saw this reality recently in the Azores, for example, and it is a much fairer system for the votes of people who do not feel represented by the biggest parties.
For the sake of electoral justice, we should have a multi-member circle, with an inherent national compensation circle, which would make it possible to reduce district inequalities when it comes to the election of their deputies.
The essential thing here, regardless of whether we later decide to opt for a single-member system or maintain the current one, is the national compensation circle.
SI – Do you want to add any more topics or questions?
SR – Yes, I would like to make an appeal to our young people: this generation of young people is the most qualified ever, and, I have no doubt, that young people interested in politics will vote in a very conscious way.
To young people who have not felt represented in the political routine, I must leave you the following message: it was because I was away from politics in my early youth (because I did not feel properly represented), that I have now decided to reverse my attitude, to that, on my part, I can contribute something, and I appeal to you to do the same.
Get involved in politics, as is your right, inform yourself and question political decision-makers.
Reverse the abstentions of recent election years and defend your future.
I will be close to everyone who wants to know me or wants to get involved in our work.
Give us strength on March 10th to change the current political paradigm.
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