2018

Case 'Visa Gold'

In Portugal we had a case called ‘visa gold’. This meant that rich people, of course for extra money, could get in a very short time all the licences they needed for building a house or start a company. A few years back they were mostly Chinese. Now after it was prohibited for a while it is started again, atracting mostly Turkish people. Even real estate agents advertise with it.

Government

The government in Portugal is the PS (Partida Social, middle left wing) with support from the BE Bloco Esquerde, the Communists and os Verdes (all left wing). In the Portuguese history since 1974 (the end of the dictatorial regime) it is the first time to have a construction like this. People were very anxious to see if it would work. Well, after more than a year, the PS has gained trust. In the polls they get more votes. And, even the EU is positive, even more than Portugal itself.

Comédias do Minho

The government subsidises culture in the region. In the Minho there is a cultural project called Comédias do Minho that includes 5 towns. Every town has about 15.000 inhabitants. Each has contracted professionals. Together they make plays for the community in general and schools. The performances are gratis. A play will rotate between these 5 towns. For instance they rewrote Utopia (Thomas More) into a modern version using modern technics to perform so it was more likeable and understandable for the students. Another time they made a piece on the history of Portugal in comedy form. Really very entertaining.

AHRESP

The AHRESP is the organisation for hygiene and alimentation, so restaurants etc.. They keep you informed on the new laws which we have a lot of these days and organise courses, workshops and seminars to educate us in every possible way. This week we were informed about the law on noise disturbance. After 23h00 this has to be kept to a minimum. We are very excited to see what will happen next season. Every village in the valley has a weekend where they celebrate their patron with an outdoor event. Then, to know that performances only start after 22h00....... It will be a challenge.