{"id":65793,"date":"2021-08-28T07:50:04","date_gmt":"2021-08-28T06:50:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eco123.info\/en\/?p=65793"},"modified":"2021-09-03T23:57:08","modified_gmt":"2021-09-03T22:57:08","slug":"no-102-first-part-men-only-is-itsecond-part-interview-with-joao-duarte-cpm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eco123.info\/en\/short-stories-en\/no-102-first-part-men-only-is-itsecond-part-interview-with-joao-duarte-cpm\/","title":{"rendered":"N\u00ba 102 –
First part – Men Only, is it?<\/h5>
Second part – Interview with Jo\u00e3o Duarte CPM<\/h5>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saturday the 28th of August 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not a single woman candidate in sight. Really, is it only men on these election posters? Over half of humanity isn\u2019t standing in this election. This is just not on. I am observing the local elections with the eyes of a journalist, a foreigner from a EU country, not in Afghanistan, no, in Portugal. And what is being offered to me, dear Politics, in Monchique and many other communities across the country, is not the representative choice of female candidates I\u2019d like to see.<\/p>\n

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On top of that we have that guy from our new neo-fascist party called Chega, another man of course. For that one I\u2019d only spare a few words, it\u2019s very simple: Fuck you! Enough already<\/em>. This specimen would like to see tougher punishments for arsonists in Portugal. Tie \u2018em to a tree and burn \u2018em. I\u2019m satisfied with the letter of the law, if the laws were applied properly for once on the part of the judiciary. If an arsonist is sentenced to twelve years in the nick, they should have to spend the whole of those twelve years in there please, rather than planting their feet under mum\u2019s table back home after only two, or four, or six years. A state based on vindictiveness has no future. The only future a body politic has is built on justice and fairness.<\/p>\n

For someone like me, who would like to see true equality between men and women that means the electorate has a choice when they go to the voting table. That\u2019s what I call justice. The electoral system was made by men however and doesn\u2019t give us a true choice. For over half of humanity, women, aren\u2019t even up for election. Why is that the case? I\u2019ve interviewed five of the male candidates in Monchique and it seems to me that none of these five men is really 100 % qualified for this job of mayor. Or am I wrong? One more, the others a little less. Am I even allowed to say, to write this? Am I not neutral? Neutral? No, I\u2019m not neutral, I am independent. I don\u2019t belong to any party, which is why I examine everyone very carefully. No one can persuade me to make them look better than the others. Unfortunately none of them has a master plan for solving the biggest problem facing humanity: the forest fires, climate change. No one really wants to grab hold of the hot potato and solve the problem. A woman might have a better approach there. She would be more independent in her decisions. Women in Portugal have better qualifications and a reputation for being courageous politicians. For this is not only about tough decisions, it\u2019s also about communicating these decisions to the voting public.<\/p>\n

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Rural exodus<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Should Monchique become climate-neutral and if so, how? How do the gentlemen intend to stop these catastrophic forest fires? I put this question to every candidate and the answers were \u2013 to put it in the smallest of nutshells \u2013 disappointing. One said he would like to solve the problem by, in my humble opinion, putting the cart in front of the \u201eMonchique\u201c horse. These kind of animals are tricky to ride without a saddle, but it\u2019s possible if you learn it. One has to learn to make do with what one has. Well, yes, the rural exodus …<\/p>\n

First the candidates want to repopulate Monchique. What to do however if nobody wants to move to Monchique from where they are because people know that it always burns here? And while we\u2019re at it, why does it always burn in Monchique? Are there qualified jobs in Monchique? Does Tesla have a factory in Monchique? Is solar or wind energy being produced and sold right here? Is IT a leading industry in Monchique? This is surely the main rub, the lack of attractive employment options, paying solid salaries. Let\u2019s dig up the problem, dissect it and take a closer look at possible solutions. Why does it always burn in Monchique?<\/strong> Do we have to ban people from owning matches? Do we have to find solutions for the dissatisfied, those left behind, the arsonists and the careless, if we are dealing with politics? Yes, definitely. We have to become part of the solution. And we have to examine the reasons why Monchique burns every few years.<\/p>\n

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In 2018 the problem was a blend of negligence on the part of the EDP and incompetence on the part of the Civil Protection service and the firefighting services who didn\u2019t keep an already extinguished forest fire under close observation. When the wind changed direction, the fire reignited. This is about demystifying fire and forest fires, to analyse exactly how a fire starts, why it was impossible to put out this particular one and what is needed to fight forest fires of this and other kinds more professionally in the future. And this is also about minimising risk, investing in prevention, in the know-how and capability of the population to be able to immediately extinguish a fire within the first 15 minutes \u2013 before it is spread by the wind. Naturally the eucalyptus monocultures are a decisive factor in the burnability of the forest in Monchique. Eucalyptus is a kind of tree that draws moisture out of the soil, that transforms water to oil which burns exceedingly well. What do we mean if we are talking about forestry? Mixed forests, managed in a sustainable and exemplary fashion? Or do we view the forest as a self-service store where we see trees as industrial wood, carving out for ourselves what IKEA or The Navigator Company need to feed their machines?<\/p>\n

Evidently the cane still occupies an honourable position in Portuguese daily life. That too will have to change. You threaten children and adults, and animals too, with a cane and \u2013 solve nothing. Threats sow fear. It\u2019s been burning in Portugal for many years. And the governments, regardless of their political colour, have never questioned their concept of threatening punishment. The order given –\u00a0 keep your plot of land clean, cut down all trees within a radius of 50 metres around your house, clean the undergrowth, or you\u2019ll be hit with a juicy fine \u2013 doesn\u2019t impress anybody any more nor does it motivate anyone to cultivate their fallow land. Salazar is dead. Ant\u00f3nio Costa too should know that by now. And people are moving from the countryside into the city. Why is that?<\/p>\n

Because they are hoping for a better life there. I\u2019ve been asking myself for a long time why we don\u2019t breathe more life into our democracy? This also involves sharing power with women in places where men haven\u2019t brought about solutions in many years. Indira Ghandi<\/strong> in India, Rute Silva <\/strong>in Vila do Bispo, Rosa Palma<\/strong> in Silves and Isilda Gomes<\/strong> in Portim\u00e3o are living proof of the fact that solutions to human-made problems, from wars through a pandemic to climate change exist, if one wants to truly solve the problems.<\/p>\n

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Forest fires are solved with your head screwed on the right way, with intelligent and courageous investments in the system-relevant firefighting services \u2013 and with permanent checks by independent non-corrupt auditors. And a more female approach doesn\u2019t punish negative environmental actions \u2013 but does reward good solution-focussed ones. Making the unimaginable imaginable. By now, forest fires are such a gigantic issue that they\u2019ll have to be tackled with the \u2018bazooka\u2019 (Ursula von der Leyen) rather than with the shotgun of a local wild boar hunter. Let\u2019s imagine the fire service in Monchique didn\u2019t exist just in Monchique town, but also in Marmelete, 20 km away and in Alferce, eight kilometres away, as well as in some other far-flung hamlets such as Sel\u00e3o and Caldas, Tojeiro and Portela da Viuva, Perna da Negra and Fornalha. Take a proper amount of money, invest it in the improvement of the fire services, and decentralise them so they can get to the places where the forest fires start faster, and put them out. Also in order to show the importance we attach to the fire services in a democratic state. Four fire engines to fight forest fires across 400 km\u00b2 will never be enough, but 40 vehicles and many well equipped and fairly remunerated teams you\u2019ll have a solid foundation. These days, the profession of the female fire fighter is one of the most important ones there are. They protect the environment and humanity from climate change. When you and I go to bed at night they are protecting us by putting out fires and standing guard.<\/p>\n

For three years, the former mayor of Monchique, the PSD\u2019s Rui Andr\u00e9, has given the victims of the gigantic forest fire of 2018 the runaround. Having promised a lot of compensation he didn\u2019t comply with any of it. Not a single one of the 61 destroyed houses owned by families with primary residence has been rebuilt, nor are the 50 houses of the affected parties with second residence that burned down being rebuilt, unless the self-help associations obtain compensation for them in court. The mayor did not even join the criminal case against the alleged arsonist, the way it would behove any responsible politician. Those who practise this kind of politics of promises <\/em>mustn\u2019t be surprised if disappointed citizens join the ranks of Chega. Rui Andr\u00e9 didn\u2019t even bother to tot up the damages, and has dragged his feet on the PDM master plan for over 12 years. Now those who can\u2019t be bothered to put together damage inventories aren\u2019t much bothered about the settlements of claims. A fundamental solution would be to adopt a law in Parliament that houses have to be insured against fire, storms and earthquakes before receiving a licence for habitation. In today\u2019s ECO123 interview it\u2019s the turn of Jo\u00e3o Duarte to present the ideas of his independent Cidad\u00e3os para Monchique<\/strong> on the issues of forest fires and climate change, and what they are planning to do about them.<\/p>\n

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Second Part: To read and listen (Podcast) to the following interview with Jo\u00e3o Duarte CPM, you need an active subscription.<\/p>\n

This content is for subscribers only.<\/p>\n

Donate \u20ac 15 to our crowdfunding campaign and save \u20ac 3 on your subscription<\/b> and support Eco123 and the botanical garden in Monchique. More information at: Crowdfunding Campaign<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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My name is Jo\u00e3o Duarte, I\u2019m 48, born and bred in Monchique, where I still live. I\u2019m married with two kids, and my background is in Mechanical Engineering.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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ECO 123: Why did you decide to stand for mayor of Monchique?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jo\u00e3o Duarte:<\/strong> For nearly 20 years now we\u2019ve been witnessing the degradation of our municipality, while we are not seeing our politicians and citizens coming together. My vision is along more professional lines; I believe that we have to change the way we view our municipality. We have great potential in terms of our natural heritage which is not being appreciated properly. We need to put together a good team with good people to renovate our municipality, to make the necessary improvements happen.<\/p>\n

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