It is time to create bridges and put an end to walls. The council needs a change in strategy. | Newspaper C

Looking at the municipality of Caminha, we are always certain: we are the most beautiful territory in the entire district.

We were blessed by mother nature with everything we needed to be a prosperous municipality.

Planted by the sea, we have the immensity of the ocean opening doors to the world.

Bathed by the River Minho, we were lucky to be the mouth of this immeasurable added value that is the entire Ribeira Minho.

The Coura River and the Âncora River add even more value to our municipality.

Our mountain range is breathtakingly beautiful, with magnificent landscapes and an environmental and scenic power.

And now there is the necessary reflection. If we have all this, why are we a municipality stuck in time?

I will leave just a few considerations, because this reflection deserves, above all, a positive, comprehensive and mature discussion on the topic.

A discussion about what we want for the municipality of Caminha, regardless of political parties. Our people and our territory count here.

You have to love the municipality of Caminha to put it at the forefront of everything.

In a game of chess, we may have gold pieces, but if we don’t know how to position them, we will certainly lose to another player who even plays with plastic pieces.

If we have a sea, we have to take advantage of our geostrategic position to create equipment to support activities and companies that can boost the business fabric of our municipality, creating jobs, better living conditions and thus settling more and more population here.

I think it’s important to invest in the tourism industry. But we cannot continue to believe that an industry that has been working intensely for decades, three months a year, will solve our municipality’s problems.

The Âncora and Coura Rivers have enormous value in terms of the possibility of enjoyment by those who could visit us throughout the year and not just in the summer. Creating passages and pedestrianizing the banks of these rivers was important to make the parishes bathed by them grow in economic terms.

It cannot be accepted that they lost an application worth more than 1 million euros to rehabilitate the banks of the River Coura, due to the inertia of the executive in office.

To justify the mistake of losing this candidacy, mayor Rui Lages claimed that he did not move forward because he needed money to restore the roads from the elements.

Let’s see, during 2023, practically nothing was done to restore the roads. He lost the candidacy for the rehabilitation of the banks of the River Coura because the deadlines were no longer possible due to the delay. In other words, an implausible justification for the loss of the candidacy, to say the least.

And when it comes to bad weather, everyone knows that they waited for money from CCDRN to start major works.

There was never the political courage to admit that it was necessary to cut back on what was necessary and essential to repair roads damaged by the weather. No. They chose to say that they were dropping a project that would have been structuring for the municipality, to do what they ultimately didn’t do.

Our mountains lack a serious policy for attracting and retaining inhabitants, as well as the creation of equipment and infrastructure that could attract people all year round.

And our Bridge?!
Where is the bridge that the municipality of Caminha is entitled to?

Viana do Castelo will have another bridge, this time registered with the PRR. Despite being located in an area of ​​the National Ecological Network, the government classified it as a Project of National Interest and thus obtained its approval. There will be mitigation measures, obviously, but it can be made compatible.

And in the municipality of Caminha?

Why can’t there be a serious positive discussion in our municipality, and I repeat: mature and comprehensive, about the need for a bridge that connects us to Spain.

Why is the argument of socio-economic development only useful for having more bridges in other municipalities and for the municipality of Caminha it is not useful?

A ferryboat stopped and rotting on the pier does not dignify the municipality of Caminha and shows the carelessness and disinterest with which this executive looks at this noble territory.

A bridge that connects us to Spain would bring added value to everyone.

Commercial, economic, business, tourist and cultural exchanges, 1.8 km away.

It’s time to believe and help those who believe to do more for the municipality of Caminha.

There is a lot to do, but, like a game of chess, we have to put the pieces in the right position to win the game of progress, attracting companies and creating jobs, thus establishing more population in the municipality of Caminha.

All great journeys begin with a first step and that step has to be strategic and energetic.

The municipality of Caminha deserves it!