In an interview broadcast on Olhos nor Olhos (Eye to Eye) on TVI last night, Henrique Medina Carreira said that the Algarve, is a "paradise lost."
Carreira is a Portuguese lawyer and was an assistant secretary of state in the 1975 provisional Government and shortly afterwards, the Minister of Finance of the First Constitutional Government July 1976 to January 1978.
The commentator noted that the growth of tourism in the Algarve started in the '60s and it was no accident, "It appeared because the Portuguese economy worked very well and the country began to enjoy a degree of enrichment. Europe had a very strong economic momentum. The growth in cars and air travel was rampant."
This growth did not deceive Medina Carreira and others who said even then, that the problems that exist in the region today were entirely predictable.
"Those who could see ahead predicted development that did not bode well in terms of construction, real estate interests, mayors. All this has led to ‘paradise lost’ in the Algarve," said Carreira.
The sale of land was rampant, "More and more was built on, but of poor quality, without respecting what was there."
Although the Algarve is a tourist area by nature, the wise one noted that today's generation "is a new generation that does not stop and does not feel attracted to things that have tradition and beauty."
This activity has been restrained to a degree by land use laws and stricted building regulations but the govenment still is allowing areas of natural importance to be developed by using the 'Project of Potential National Interest' system run by the Portuguese Investment Agency.
This agency was created in 2005 with the purpose of promoting and supporting large investment projects which will 'generate value for the Portuguese economy,' often at the expense of natural areas of special ecological value.
This puts the agency at odds with the ministries in charge of the environment and agriculture and has seen financial failures such as the Algarve's International Autodrome authorised with a breathtaking lack of intelligence.
The Algarve remains a paradise for many but the authorisation of building projects that promise jobs and deliver bankruptcies needs better screening and regulation.
