The Algarve was rediscovered the day after the legislative elections.
The reason? The only district in the country that was painted blue with a significant majority of votes for CHEGA. The blue that, until then, painted the skies and the sea painted the votes in the region. In municipal terms, CHEGA won in six municipalities: Portimão, Lagoa, Silves, Albufeira, Loulé and Portimão.
In turn, AD was the second most voted force/coalition also in six municipalities: Monchique, Albufeira, Loulé, Faro, Tavira and Alcoutim (only two of the municipalities coinciding with the previous ones).
If we compare 2022 with these elections, in terms of elected deputies, it appears that it is the Socialist Party that transfers two deputies to CHEGA (the party with the most votes in the Algarve region), so each of the most voted elects three deputies . The AD coalition obtained 3rd position with three elected representatives and 52.885 votes (22,39%), while CHEGA, with three deputies elected by the Algarve, obtained 64.228 votes (27,19%).
This result surprised the entire country, but not those who are on the ground and realize every day how far the region is from political decisions and the priorities of the National Strategy.
The “blue” card results much more from an inability of any of the parties in the government to get its message across, rather than from a successful active social media strategy by a protagonist or the fact that they have list heads from outside the region.
Tourism monoculture should also not be the target of all criticism, but rather the lack of vision and decision by the central government, and those who have led it, to make the necessary investments in equipment and infrastructure that enable the creation of competitiveness in other areas. in the region.
Regionally and locally, the lack of leadership is a recurring issue, as is the continued inability of strategies associated with European financing to counteract the lack of innovation and modernization of the regional economic and productive fabric.
On March 11th, analyzes and comments followed that demonstrated a huge surprise, but also the confirmation of the expected increase in votes in CHEGA. It is in the newspaper Expresso on March 14 that a headline brings the Algarve into a very negative spotlight and highlights a “bare and raw” reality: a population with fewer qualifications, more poverty, more immigration and seasonal work. It has more young people, but less population than the national average with higher education.
It has grown more in inhabitants, but has no houses for new residents.
There's avondo!
This is a very dark photograph of a territory only remembered during the vacation period for swimming (and now also remembered during election periods). The penalty was greater for those who were in the Government at the time of the elections, but it does not leave out the responsibilities of previous policies and politicians.
The reduction in abstention and the mobilization felt revealed the desire for change, but, in the Algarve, above all a strong call to attention for everything that has not been done.
Health, infrastructure, housing and the improvement of living conditions for those who live every day in this territory cannot continue to be forgotten or only remembered 15 days before the elections. It seems that the new residents have already been integrated into the Algarve way of being and understand very well what it means: “they have avondo!” (enough).
Let's not forget that, next, we have the European Elections, and the Local Elections soon, so we have to listen and make it happen so that the Algarve is more than a contributor to the national GDP or a holiday destination.
March 10, 2024, the day the Algarve said “no is no” to both political forces in the government, was the day the national elections also brought a new reality to the country.
The Algarve as never seen before; There's avondo!
Author: Alexandra Rodrigues Gonçalves is an associate professor at the Higher School of Management, Hospitality and Tourism at the University of Algarve
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