Left Bloc (BE) leader Catarina Martins was among the 19 MPs that took part in a march against the Algarve’s A22 motorway tolls last weekend in Lagoa.
She appeared alongside the region’s anti-toll champion and Algarve MP for BE João Vasconcelos, who told reporters that the “EN125 road is not a viable alternative to the Via do Infante highway”.
“This is a very old fight, we want a toll-free Algarve,” said the man who has been leading the anti-toll battle since 2011.
According to Vasconcelos, the number of accidents on the EN125 is a “calamity”. Last year there were “over 10,000” while this year the number is fast approaching 4,000.
The march took place on Saturday (June 3) at 10.30am between two of the town’s main roundabouts near the old EDP building and Fatacil.
It was part of BE’s ‘Jornadas Parlamentares’ which saw the party’s MPs travelling to the Algarve to get a feel for the region’s burning issues.
Vasconcelos vowed that BE will always be an anti-toll force in Parliament, though the party is currently playing a key role in the partnership between left-wing parties that allows the Socialists (PS) to rule. However, the PS government has insisted that Portugal cannot afford to ditch the tolls (click here).
