The mayor of Aljezur, José Amarelinho, may not be mayor much longer as his final appeal to the Constitutional Court has been rejected.The case against the Mayor of Aljezur goes back to 2012 when the socialist mayor was condemned by Lagos Court which ordered he be relieved of his mayoral position, also to serve three years and two months in prison unless he paid €5,000 to the League for the Protection of Nature.
His crimes related to the Vale de Telha housing development and licensing irregularities between 1990 and 2008.
The court of appeal in Évora rejected his appeal in June 2017, as has the Constitutional Court on Feb 22nd, leaving the mayor little space for further legal maneuvers.
In the same case, the court also condemned the then Mayor of Aljezur, Manuel Marreiros, to four years and three months' imprisonment or paying €500 to Almargem.
The court established that the two public officials had licensed works in the Vale da Telha area, without following the municipal master plan, "acting with indifference before the law ..., taking advantage of the council powers and supporting their friends and supporters."
José Amarelinho and Manuel Marreiros had "acted contrary to the law," both in the licensing processes for private buildings and for not doing anything about the building planning breaches.
Amarelinho, famed in the Algarve for his strident anti-oil exploration stance, says he will make an announcement next week but short of the European Court, he has nowhere left in Portugal to hear yet another appeal. He has huge local support and is a popular figure but will have annoyed the Socialist Party hierarchy in opposing the government’s pro-oil policy, so can expect little support from Lisbon.
