Meet the candidates who support the protection of Quinta dos Ingleses

sosquintaingleses
Sep 22
3 min read

Updated: Oct 6

The SOS Quinta dos Ingleses movement has always been, and remains, non-partisan. But the issue of Quinta dos Ingleses is not only environmental, it is also political. That is why the upcoming local elections, on 12 October, may prove decisive for our cause.

If a candidate who has publicly committed to saving Quinta dos Ingleses wins, we are confident that the future of our green lung will shift from its current grey hues to the vibrant tones of yesteryear.

So, over the last few weeks, we have met with the various candidates for mayor of Cascais to understand each one's intentions regarding the future of Quinta dos Ingleses if they win. Below are the results of the spontaneous challenge we proposed to each candidate who accepted our invitation: ‘In a few words and in a few minutes, write down your commitment to safeguarding Quinta dos Ingleses as a 52-hectare Urban Natural Park!’

Alexandre Abreu – Futuro em Comum (BE, Livre and PAN coalition)

‘We are committed to defending Quinta dos Ingleses as a natural space for public enjoyment, for the sake of nature, citizenship, quality of life and future generations. We want to work with the government to classify the Quinta as a locally protected landscape area, immediately halt the work in progress and start a process of reforestation and renaturalisation immediately.’

António Pinto Pereira – Mudar Cascais (independent)

"The destruction of the last green space on the Cascais coastline is the legacy of this generation of politicians, which we will never forget. It is the greatest ecocide I can remember in Portugal. At a time when there is a focus on green spaces, others are destroying them. For my part, I am fully committed to recovering Quinta dos Ingleses against all vested interests and pressure from estate agents. I don't care. It is possible to neutralise this nonsense through political means: 1) expropriate for public use; 2) review the PPERUCS; and 3) create a renaturalisation and public use plan aimed at safeguarding that space. It is still possible. May God help us."

Carlos Rabaçal – Cascais É de Todos (CDU)

‘In the Cascais Municipal Council, I will promote the revocation of the Quinta dos Ingleses real estate project, challenging the fallacy of acquired rights and promoting the natural and cultural recovery of the Quinta, to ensure its classification and full protection.’

João Maria Jonet – Cascais para Viver (independent)

‘I pledge, on my honour, to do everything possible to preserve the entirety of Quinta dos Ingleses as a large urban green space.’

João Rodrigues dos Santos – Cada vez mais Chega Cascais

"What I will do about Quinta dos Ingleses if I am elected president of the CMC:

1. Suspend construction work and licences.

2. Try to negotiate a balanced solution with the developers that will transform Quinta dos Ingleses into a green park.

3. If no agreement is reached, I will propose a municipal referendum to decide the future of Quinta dos Ingleses:

a) Concrete development;

b) Urban park with compensation decided in court.

Manuel Simões de Almeida – Cascais, nem Mais! (Iniciativa Liberal)

‘I intend to exhaust all possibilities, many of which I only learned about today, to prevent the project from going ahead, provided that this does not violate the developer's acquired rights or impose excessive costs on the residents of Cascais.’