Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Pete … Storm damaged swimming pool area behind the Forte de São Tiago.

Cherimoyas. Some consider the cherimoya one of the most delicious fruits available, but its commercial production is limited by a short growing season and shelf life. The cherimoya is native to the valleys of Ecuador, Colombia, and Bolivia, spreading to Chile and Brazil during ancient times. The United States Department of Agriculture imported cherimoya seeds from the Madeira Islands in 1907.  ARTICLE Thanks Elaine, looks like a Anona to me, and if so is one of my favourite fruits and just coming into season now I think, and quite cheap too.

German submarine U-68 near sunk near Madeira Island … Pete ARTICLE     Thanks Pete

Jon kindly sent in a write up on progress in the clean up and repairs needed in Santa Cruz. Hover over a photo for a brief description, click on a photo for full size. Many thanks Jon …

23 Days After … "Partly in response to the (removed) query about the Vila Gale Hotel in Santa Cruz the other day but mainly as a small follow on to your report, I attach some photos of our local area, taken over the weekend and today. All our mains services are fully restored but clean up ongoing. All roads passable but some still without "edge" walls and undermined or with tarmac missing in parts and potholes. The landscape and forest area around and above us is deeply scarred with the water run off channels, trees and rock debris etc. – the face of the land changed forever. All local houses O.K. but I don’t know about those in the higher areas of Gaula and Santa Cruz. Ribeira bridges repaired in Santa Cruz and promenade now fully open but walk with care; damaged walkways, loose rocks and unstable cliff face ….. Hotel Gale seems to be operating normally although the public pebble beach that fronts it is not, somewhat bashed. All cafes/bars and restaurants fully up and running in Santa Cruz (town) itself and some tourists out and about spending money….the daily fruit/veg/fish/flower market is also open as normal and is as quaint as ever!"

Marítimo lost their league game last night at Paços de Ferreira 1 – 0, following on from Sunday night when Nacional were defeated at home by Benfica, again by a single goal.

If anyone should see a summary of the government budget cuts and changes, please let me know. So far over the last few days changes to taxes (increases for high earners), I have heard of restraints in public  services, including pay restrictions for public service workers, a cut in unemployment benefit (new ceiling imposed), and also reductions in allowable tax expenses (deductions for 2010) have been announced. It would be useful for many to have a summary. Thanks.

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

DIÁRIO 15/03/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Criminal activity in 2009. Last year, Public Ministry investigations were for: 3,875 crimes against property, 1,264 against inheritance, 301 against the state and 80 unpaid cheques. Highlighted in the figures was the 42.5% increase in drug trafficking (285). There were the highest number of cases of domestic violence ever (1,025). Other prosecutions were: 597 for driving without authorization, under the influence of alcohol or other traffic offences, 46 charges of corruption, 33 cases of coercion and resisting arrest, 71 against sexual freedom and empowerment of children, 31 cases of violence against children and 6 cases of violence against the elderly. In the past 8 years, 11 men and 1 woman have been arrested for rape. Half were in their 20s and the two youngest were 17 years of age. More than half of the victims were aged between 40 and 65, and eight of the crimes were committed in the residence of the victim. 

Two families tried to take advantage of the storm. Two families from a social housing complex in Santo Amaro in Santo António attempted to take advantage of the bad weather of February 20th to get a better house from IHM. The eight people involved spent one night at RG3 but were detected immediately as false applicants.

MADEIRA

Stopped work obstructs stream. Residents living in the vicinity of the Ribeiro do Moreno in Santa Cruz are worried by debris from the floods of February 20th blocking the water course. The stream runs beneath the airport and is obstructed between the bridge linking Rua de São Sebastião to the placa do aeroporto (?).  Flooding closed the Rua de São Sebastião and Rua de Santa Catarina for three days. The cause of the blockage is a seven year old concrete and iron remnant from when a petrol filling station began to be constructed. The construction was stopped when there was a dispute over inheritance of the land. The injunction has not been lifted and the structure still stands in the stream. The case is under review.

‘Clean Portugal’ (‘Limpar Portugal’) has 121 volunteers in Madeira. The volunteers will try to clean the forests in one day – next Saturday. This is a nationwide campaign based on an initial event in Estonia in 2008. The event coincides with the Day of the Forest. So far, they have no offers of help from residents in São Vicente and Porto Moniz. Instead, the movement has volunteers from Funchal to Ribeira Brava and from Machico to Porto Santo. Posters advertising the ‘L’ day have the slogan: ‘We’ll do it. And you? You’ll stay at home’. To adhere: CLICK HERE

Boy injured in explosion. A nine-year old boy was injured on Saturday afternoon after finding a ‘bottle bomb’ while playing at his home in Lombo dos Aguiares in Santo António. This exploded in his hand and he has had minor surgery for hand injuries and facial burns. He will require plastic surgery later on.

Wettest winter since 1865. December – February 2009 / 10 was the wettest season since records began in 1865. The amount of rainfall was three times the normal rate between 1971 – 2000. During February, Funchal was the wettest area and had seven times the average amount of rain. This was also the most since 1865. Porto Santo had the third wettest winter since records began in 1940.

ECONOMY

Porto Santo Line solidarity with victims. Porto Santo Line will donate 50,000 Euros to two charities. The company’s revenue from ticket sales for last weekend’s six trips between Funchal and Port Santo is to be donated to the victims of the storm of February 20th. Previously, the firm had promised to make the donation up to the sum of 50,000 Euros, so they had to add a few thousand Euros. The ferry transported 673 passengers to Porto Santo and 700 to Funchal.

POLITICS

Region wasting funds for poverty reduction. The leader of the Socialist Party, Jacinto Serrão accused the Regional Government of not utilizing funds made available by the Government of the Republic for social intervention. "The social fragility of the region is deliberately hidden by the Madeiran Government." The government has not divulged the serious situation linked to Social Security, growing debts of businesses. Part of this hidden reality is the low rate of allocation of social benefits, much lower than given by the State, contradictory to the regional reality. One of the political consequences of new information the party has gained from the former president of Social Security, is that the Socialist Party request a parliamentary debate on the state of Social Security.

UPDATES

Swan Lake ballet in Funchal on April 1st. The Moscow Tchaikovsky Ballet, accompanied by the OCM, will perform Swan Lake at 21.00 at the Congress Centre of Madeira. This is the first big event in the program celebrating the centenary of the Clube Desportivo Nacional.

Compensation rises to 133 million Euros. The Portuguese Association of Insurers estimates the amount of compensation claimed after the storm of February 20th will reach 150 million Euros. Already, 1,532 claims have been recorded. Originally, they estimated a loss of 60 million Euros. This is the worst event in the history of Portuguese insurance.

Storms cause 40 million Euros losses in agriculture and forestry. The losses have been sustained by bad weather since December. 2,300 farmers have applied for grants for damage and they can claim for 85% of damage. The extraordinary storm of February 20th has led to the Regional Government to ask the EU to increase the support to 95%.

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

Council accuses company of filling the river with rubbish – Santa Cruz suppresses contract because of the dumping in Camacha. The company boss concerned denies everything.

‘The law of the stoppers’ with opposing interpretations – Prohibiting internal criticisms within the Social Democrat Part [national level] is ‘fascism’ for Filipe Malheiro, and an ‘act of courage’ for Rafaela Fernandes. This has been a main headline in the national media for several days now, when a resolution was passed in the PSD party conference that enables party leaders to expel members who openly criticise the party. Watch out Uncle Bertie, as it seems to be your favourite pastime! Somehow I don’t think any PSD party leader would have the guts to expel him, as it would just make the situation even worse. UB at the conference was treated as a hero by friends and foes at the conference, as he rides a high tide of public opinion due to the sympathy and the following reaction to the disaster of 20th February.

Today’s main news headline : Government raises [constructs] walls on the sandy areas – Gradually the houses on the beach front of Porto Santo have become holiday homes for the more powerful leaders. The Regional Government turned a blind eye, but prohibited new units. Now the fierceness of the ocean has led the government itself to the beach to protect these homes, starting through one of Jardim’s helpers. The sand dunes suffer. Even the Council of Porto Santo protests.

Storm : Santa Cruz quits from the ‘City Of Culture 2010′. The decision was taken by council president José Alberto Gonçalves, who considered it more important to focus on the need to rehome people and recuperate the area after the storm of 20th February.

More than two hundred put to work in zones affected by the storm. The exercise repeats at the month end. Two hundred and forty-two people will be put to work in local institutions and charities in the areas most affected by the storms of 20th February. The program of recruitment of workers was set up by the Government, and is aimed at the unemployed receiving unemployment benefits. The deadline for applications ended on Monday, but at the end of the month the recruitment drive will be reopened for another wave of applications.  The placement program for unemployed does not have any cost to local authorities or to social institutions that provide support to victims of the storm. Workers continue to receive unemployment benefits increased by 25% of the regional minimum wages, in addition to allowances for transportation.

Nacional tourists feel the urge to visit Madeira – President of the Executive Commission of Mundovip is convinced that the national market is going to grow this year in the Region. Those responsible for the major tour operators are on Madeira today.

Boost in the promotion of the Flower festival in the internal market. Trinidade and Estudante [national and regional tourism bosses] discuss campaign for the winning and promotion of air routes.

Storms cause €40 million of damage in Madeiran agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture is available to support proposals in Brussels.

The main sports / football headline today : Bad luck brings defeat and distances Marítimo from the Europa League – Lack of effectiveness and a great goalkeeping performance were the foundation of the defeat (1 – 0) in Paços de Ferreira.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated. 

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(6th September). Today’s main news headline : ‘Cattle In Extinction – Of the number of cows that existed on Madeira 20 years ago, only 20% remain’. The article refers to cattle of regional origin, and in 2007 the livestock count was just 2,500. The regional livestock sector is in danger of disappearing due to declining interest in raising livestock, and the new rules imposed by the government and the European Union. Today we can even say that the regional cattle stock moves towards extinction. Proof of this is the drastic reduction of livestock that occurred in the last two decades, which has further worsened in recent years. In 1986 Madeira had over 11,500 cattle, and that has reduced by around 80% since then. According to a managing partner of the largest importer of live cattle in the region, the reduction is mainly linked to the "lack of interest among farmers" and "lack of information" and "bureaucracy surrounding the raising of animals." A situation he stresses that "is getting worse, and the way this is going, in 10 years there will be no cows left. Less significant, but no less disturbing was the reduction in the import of animals for fattening and slaughter. In this particular case, says Manuel Gaston, "there was a drop between 30 to 35% compared to two years ago". The reasons are mostly related to the national and international crisis. "This is more about the economic situation. The civil construction has slowed, there is less work, wages are low and, obviously people opt for other meats like chicken and pork, which have been very cheap", he said. The situation does not just affect cattle, with livestock declining also for pigs, down from 26,500 in 1986 to 13,300 now. The number of sheep has also reduced in that period from 12,996, to 2,699 at the end of 2007, but that statistic is closely linked to the decision by the regional government to remove sheep from the mountains and countryside, which led to many farmers abandoning this activity.

‘More Support – The crisis obliges the Social Security to expand its budgets for the institutes of solidarity’. The Social Security Centre Madeira (CSSM) gave €6.1 million to Private Institutions of Social Solidarity (IPSS) and other non-profit institutions of social support during the first half of 2009. Compared to the same period last year that was €300,000 more, with the number of support organisations increasing from 57 to 58. The biggest beneficiary was the Centro Social e Paroquial de São Bento, which received over €947,000, followed by the Centro Social Paroquial de Santo António with nearly €700,000, the Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Calheta with €512,000, and the Centro Social e Paroquial da Santíssima Trindade da Tabua with €437,000. The president of the Board of CSSM, Bernadette Vieira, said that this increase is a reflection "of investments that have been made in the areas that benefit senior citizens and children", and  stresses, that needs tends to increase, not only due to the emergence of new institutions of support and social solidarity, but also due to some serious social problems arising from the economic crisis.

Most of today’s front page is taken up with a photo of Cristiano Ronaldo with that agonising look he specialises in when he misses a scoring chance : ‘The Cursed Lack Of Aim – Liedson makes his debut with a goal but Portugal didn’t go beyond the draw (1 – 1) in Denmark. Faced with the triumph of Sweden in Hungary, our team fell to 4th place in the group and now has to rely on the others to enable it’s arrival at the World Cup’. It was just one of those games, when Denmark had just one shot on goal and scored, and Portugal had 15 at the last count and scored once. The referee was taking a bit of stick on the TV news this morning too, for not giving a pretty obvious penalty. With 3 games left against Hungary (x 2) and Malta, Portugal now need Sweden to slip up to have any hope of a play-off position.

‘Paul Loses Fishermen – The land of ‘sea captains’ awaits the construction of a fish market and for a civic centre’. Another headline : "Some Work The Land, Others Work The Sea" – Paul do Mar marked by emigration’. With 20 years Carlos Ferreira swapped Paul do Mar for Panama four years ago. Since then he has travelled around several Latin American countries on board tuna fishing vessels. The story of Carlos is no different from most of the inhabitants of Paul do Mar, a neighbourhood marked by emigration where "some work the land, others work the sea", explains Maria Fernandes, who at 64 years has also been an emigrant in South Africa. Australia, Panama, Samoa, Venezuela and England are other destinations for ‘pauleiros’. It is in the sea that the majority seek a living and better conditions in life. "It is very worthwhile," says Carlos Ferreira, who has no regrets having spent so much of his life at sea. "You earn a lot of money," he stresses. But in this "corner of heaven" not everything runs to form. There is still much to be done. The population welcomes the progress in the work on the Civic Centre, but complains about the lack of employment, and the health centre, for failing to offer a permanent service. It looks like the Diário series ‘Through Madeira’ is back. Marked by emigration it may be, but also marked by strewn concrete blocks like much of our coastline I see from the photo.

UPDATES :

‘Five Thousand In Grape Harvest Festival’. An estimated 5,000 people, including many tourists, went to Estreito de Câmara de Lobos yesterday morning to see the 32nd Festa das Vindimas. The Diário observed that the festival goers snubbed the risks of Gripe A swine flu, passing around drinking classes from person to person, a high-risk behaviour. One visitor was dazzled by the party and with the island, saying "It’s very beautiful. I’m really enjoying it. Madeira is beautiful". Herminia Lopez, a Luso-Venezuelan visiting Madeira for the first time praised the festival, "I loved it. It is very interesting". The regional secretary for tourism said that the wine festivals are well consolidated as tourism events, a fact proved by the 75% hotel occupancy, but she still aiming to improve on that. Grape production this year is expected to fall short of that achieved last year, and the harvest is also delayed as a result of weather conditions.
The photo is from Estreito de Câmara de Lobos yesterday.

‘Families should make contingency plans – The Director-General of Health states that each one must have their own procedures’. "We are informing all the Portuguese that the principal contingency plans are those of families", he said, referring of course to Gripe A swine flu. He also said that the obese, asthmatics, diabetics and those who have chronic problems, should consult their doctors beforehand to prepare protocols and procedures, to work to in the event of contracting Gripe A. "We are not at great risk, but it may be in the Autumn or Winter that this will happen" he added, stressing that at that time, "everyone should know what to do". The President of the Board of Health and Social Affairs, Maurício Melim, also present at the awareness initiative, said that the regional authorities will continue to invest in a plan of prevention, with particular attention for children, pregnant women, and the chronically ill.

‘Dog Show With More Breeds – The Lido Gardens filled yesterday afternoon and the appeal of the organisation was heard’. 65 dogs were entered and judged in several categories. The organiser took the opportunity to appeal to people not to abandon dogs, and to ensure that they were sterilised. There is a slideshow HERE with more photographs.

The International Wine Challenge (IWC) in London came to distinguish one wine made in Madeira as being the best in its category. The award for the best dessert(?) wine in the world was given to Verdelho 10 Old Reserve produced by Vinhos Barbeito. The election of a Madeira wine as the best liqueur(?) in the world is of great importance, since Madeira will increase its exports when the quality of its wine is recognized in such a way. Two other Madeira wines were also awarded at the event last week. Henriques & Henriques won a medal with a Malmsey of 2001, and also a Bual Colheita 1993 was among the winners. (It’s a bit tricky translating wine terminology, so a bit of guesswork was involved … just in case anyone was thinking of going out to buy a bottle of one of those mentioned).

The last of the front page stories today : ‘Parties Repetitive – There are places and entities, almost always the same, that are tempting for the parties in campaign times’. Bit of a pointless article really, but here goes. The political parties always target the same institutions when on the election campaign trail. Some institutions refuse to get involved. Favourites are Funchal Central Hospital and the regions health centres, to highlight a lack of conditions, Madeira Education Centre, the Farmers Market in Funchal, to get nice colourful pictures, and Madeira Free Zone. Visits to the regional command centre of the police, to highlight security issues, and the employment office of course, are also popular. The PSD social democrats particularly like to associate themselves with the church, and charities are also popular. In terms of a good backdrop for TV interviews, Pico dos Barcelos is popular, being a good spot with a panoramic view over Funchal.

"Absolute Majorites Always Abuse" – To inaugurate in election times is a sign of a lack of democratic maturity’. Those were some of the messages from Paulo Portas, national leader of the CDS Christian Democrats, on Madeira yesterday for the party political rally in Prazeres. The party has a slight chance of a seat in the Assembly of the Republic, if all goes really well. Portas referred to two politicians in his criticism, José Sócrates and Alberto João Jardim, saying that in absolute majorities "they transform the power into abuse". We all know that inaugurations at election time are a speciality of president Jardim, to win votes, but this year prime minister Sócrates is being accused of copying Jardim by doing much the same thing. Not quite on the same scale, as Jardim does two a day, and Sócrates just one. 

(3rd July). ‘PS proposes commission against corruption in municipal councils – Rui Caetano requires greater transparency in administrative deeds’. The proposal for the creation of anti-corruption commissions in all the 11 councils on Madeira, was made by a representative of the Socialist Party, PS-M. Caetano clarifies that these bodies should be adapted to the ‘real life’ operations in each of the councils, while maintaining a direct connection with the higher authorities. The objective is for greater transparency in administration, especially in the areas most susceptible to corruption, urban planning and licensing. Uncle Bertie is rumoured to be considering the proposal, but the brown envelope containing the necessary bits of paper has not yet been handed over.

Just for information and amusement really, as the Minister for the Economy was sacked by Prime Minister José Socrates yesterday. Sorry no I am wrong, he actually resigned. Manuel Pinho was spotted making a gesture at opposition members … see photo below.

All the boring political stuff we have to put up with, and then a gem like this makes it all worthwhile. It has even made the international press, and is all over the TV today. Very silly really, if Uncle Bertie was punished each time he made an indiscretion, he would be black and blue and fed to the fish by now.

A couple of days ago it was reported that regional red wine (vinho seco) was facing extinction, due to new laws and controls imposed by Madeira’s government. Well, starting yesterday, the whole scheme was revoked, and vinho seco is back on the menu as before. A government spokesman justified the u-turn decision by saying that the changes were needing a good “reponder”. Tell me again, when are the next elections?

(2nd July). "Only the crazy vote for their executioner" – Jardim criticized the "wickedness" of the Government of the Republic and declared himself "troubled" with the rise in unemployment. President Jardim was referring to the prime minister of Portugal, José Sócrates, who lacked respect and used his power for partisan purposes, to attack, and for revenge, against the people of Madeira. He said that "Sócrates has put Portugal in a more vulnerable position, which has more negative consequences for this country than any other democracy in Europe". OK, its official then I am crazy, or more accurately I would be crazy, but I cannot vote in national elections. Love the photo though (the duh! look), he really does look troubled.

On matters of the economy :

(2nd July). ‘Government Admits Lower Taxes For Tourism – IVA / VAT and special payment budgets could be changed’. The government of Portugal admits to changing taxes applicable to hotels and restaurants, especially concerning IVA / VAT and another, as apart of a plan of development and competitiveness in the tourism sector. That news comes a few days after the Treasury denied any intention to change IVA / VAT rates, but it has since had a meeting with a body that represents that sector. Under changes passed by the EU recently, EU countries are now permitted, as a temporary measure, to lower purchase taxes down to 5% in the restaurant and catering industry. France, for example, has just reduced its IVA rate from 19.6% to 5% in restaurants. According to a source, the decision to proceed with the initiative is about "the need to conduct a comprehensive study of applicable taxes in the sector of hotels, catering and tourism, taking into account the importance of the sector to the national economy, in an environment of healthy competition and to minimize fraud and tax evasion".

(1st July). ‘Small Fruit Returns To The Market’. The market for fruit and vegetables that do not meet the exacting standards imposed by the European Union has been relaxed. The calibration requirements for 26 types of fruits and vegetables finished yesterday, and opens the way for farmers and anyone else to sell produce of any size and shape. The 26 fruits and vegetables that will be sold regardless of the shape and size include apricots, artichokes, asparagus, aubergines, beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cherries, cucumbers, garlic, hazelnuts in shells, and cabbages. These products only represent 25% of the market, the other 75% are still bound by the old rules. Shame that, as regrettably I will still have to buy lettuces that are three times the size that I need.

(30th June). ‘Loss In Importations – Madeira registers in the first 6 months a fall of 12.4% in merchandise and 14.2% in shipping containers’. It was on the front page again, the second time in a month, so I will just cover briefly. Both the Madeirans and companies here are buying less produce that comes from outside. In particular the import of cement and related products has fallen by 22.7%. However, the figures could have been lower if it wasn’t for the Armas ferry which brings in cargo to Funchal.

Zon Multimedia SGPS SA, a Portuguese pay-television company, plans to start offering a subscription television service in Angola in November. Zon is awaiting the launch of the satellite that will broadcast its programming and also has to wait for licenses that will be awarded by Angolan authorities, the Portuguese Diário newspaper said.