The Ria Formosa islanders seem only to have one political friend left, in the form of the Left Bloc which is insistent that the government sticks to its anti-demolition legislation and halts the destruction of 14 further houses this November.
The Bloquistas are adamant that the Minister for the Environment explains the latest round of planned demolitions at Hangars and Farol, now scheduled for the 7th of next month.
The Left Bloc has demanded an "urgent hearing" with Joaã Pedro Matos Fernandes so he can explain the seizure of the 14 targeted properties on Culatra.
Left Bloc MP, João Vasconcelos has reminded the government that parliament approved a resolution nearly two years ago but has failed to action the law formally to recognise Hangars and Farol as settlements.
The 2016 law stated that "no first homes of fishermen, or shellfishermen, active or retired, will be demolished without the owner being rehoused on the island itself," and it described the creation of an integrated plan for the Ria Formosa natural park area to reduce pollution, dredging key navigation channels and adopt measures to combat coastal erosion.
João Vasconcelos said that, "The protection, conservation and enhancement of the Ria Formosa is not incompatible with controlled, regulated and responsible human occupation, as they complement each other in a necessary and sustainable balance."
According to the MP, the 14 planned takeovers is forcefully imposing unjust political decisions that affect the proven situations of houses owned by fishermen and shellfishermen."
Aware of the growing controversy surrounding a new block of luxury apartments being built on reclaimed land to the western edge of the city of Olhão, and the existing blocs of luxury apartments that have been built at the water's edge in Fuseta (pictured below), Vasconcelos commented of the islanders’ plight,
"The situation of injustice is even greater when a variety of criteria are applied regarding the demolition or non-demolition of buildings on the barrier islands when there are apartments and luxury condominiums being built in the area of public maritime domain and nothing happens to them."
