A small group of anti-tolls protesters took to the EN125 last Saturday (July 12) for the first of a new round of demonstrations against the A22 tolls.
The protest, which started in Loulé and headed slowly towards Faro in an attempt to show the government that the busy EN125 is no alternative to the tolled motorway, was held by the CUVI group, which has been fighting the tolls since before they were implemented on December 8, 2011.
Speaking to the Resident, the head of CUVI João Vasconcelos said that the idea behind last weekend’s initiative was not to stage a “big protest” but to begin the round of demonstrations and garner support for future protests that will be taking place this summer season. The next will take place this Sunday (July 20), when demonstrators will participate in the bikers’ parade in Faro.
Then in August, protestors will once again be setting up camp outside the holiday homes of PM Pedro Passos Coelho in Manta Rota and President Cavaco Silva in Albufeira’s Aldeia da Coelha. Each time they have tried to be heard by the politicians but have been unsuccessful so far.
The protesters also plan to make themselves heard at PSD’s annual summer party in the region, ‘Festa do Pontal’, also in August.
João Vasconcelos told us that more demonstrations may be organised and will be announced in due time. He also confirmed that the group is working on a new petition – again calling for the suspension of the A22 tolls – to be handed over to Parliament.
