Algarve adrift?

You handed José Socrates a proposal asking for urgent measures to be taken to combat unemployment in the Algarve. How did he accept it?

António Goulart: Yes, I wanted to hand this document personally to the Prime Minister – but he didn’t seem in the least bit interested, and asked one of his attachés to take it. I think the Prime Minister should have been very interested to receive this document personally. Above all, in order to demonstrate something that up until now has been lacking; a sign that he is interested in the economic and social situation in the Algarve - and the bad time that people here are going through.

What did your emergency plan entail?

What we want is a set of concrete measures to combat unemployment in the Algarve and revitalize the economy – or at least, reduce current problems. Maybe it’s even possible to look at community funding relating to the Algarve and see if any of it can be used to create employment. Equally, what’s needed here is more public investment to create jobs.

What’s the reality of the Algarve today?

The figures we have from the Institute of Employment and Professional Training don’t fully reflect unemployment totals. There are many more unemployed that the 20.772 stated in official figures. We estimate around 25.000. There are also quite a few thousand who aren’t listed anywhere – people who live in a parallel economy, and who don’t have any access to subsidies. And then there’s another question. In a family, you only need one member of a couple to be unemployed for the effects to be felt by the whole family unit. This is a problem that surpasses simple unemployment. It’s a snowball that compromises the whole economy.

How did your «Emergency Plan» come about?

It originated some time ago. We had a series of meetings with social partners and reached the conclusion that a series of measures was needed to curb unemployment and stimulate the region’s economy. We delivered our proposal to the Civil Governor, in the hope that she sent it on to the Government. After six weeks, we were told the governor was still absent from the region…In other words, we’ve got another governor who announces a few things, attends a few inaugurations but when it comes to tackling the real problems of the region, simply isn’t available. Meanwhile, since November, unemployment has grown by 45 per cent. That’s double the rest of the country.

Won’t the next summer bring some hope?

The summer may well act as a slim buffer – but the tourist season isn’t expected to be anything special this year. In other words, by the end of the summer, we could be facing one of the worst socio-economic crises in living memory.

Is it a consequence of “the crisis” or is it due to the concentration of the region’s economy on tourism?

I think it’s the result of many things – but it’s a consequence of the weaknesses of the region’s economic structure in revolving around just one sector of activity. It is a region with the most unstable labour market in the country. Cross this with the effects of Government policies – which, in the last four years, have favoured large companies – and you arrive at this situation. At the moment, what’s certain is that in a region where 60 per cent of jobs are ‘uncertain/ precarious’, the effects of a crisis will be felt fast and furious.

Does it make sense living in the Algarve?

As an Algarvian, of course, I always think this is a good place to live – but it’s going through a particularly hard time right now. Right now, we’re aware that there are thousands of Algarvians who don’t have the money to pay for their home loans, the crèches for their children, their food, electricity, water or gas. You only have to see how the local authorities are approving ways of helping municipalities…This is spreading, and the number of Algarvians in need of help has grown alarmingly.

But, on the other hand, there are more and more exterior signs of wealth...you only have to look at the luxury cars in the Algarve’s towns. There are a lot of people out there with money. How is that possible?

It’s possible because money is shared in a very unequal way. If you consider that salaries are low – the future will be very difficult if this doesn’t change. From the point of view of the economy, it won’t be possible for much longer to have the vast majority of people on low wages while a privileged few earn more. This level of contrasts simply cannot continue in a country with the kind of needs and problems that Portugal has. If we want to develop economically, with social balance, we won’t be able to continue on this path for much longer. Nonetheless, a lot of these inequalities are due to what is happening today on an international level.