Dear friends and supporters of ASMAA

Many may have wondered why we have been so quiet and appeared to have hibernated into distant shores.

Nothing could be further from the truth. During this time, we have just gone down the deepest “Rabbit Hole” that even in our deepest imagination, we could not fathom how deep it was, and we haven’t reached the bottom yet. Every day we find ourselves digging deeper …

The reality is that Portugal property owners are in deep trouble, as the government used the time during which we all have been placed under house arrest because of a “pandemic” - by using the pandemic distraction to pass some disturbing laws, directives, and to enter into a myriad of negotiations, all of which does not augur well for any of us that has invested in Portugal.

The latest most disturbing law that the government passed is the new Immovable/Fixed Property Expropriation one, with loads of amendments to the previous one - by using the intentionally created economic and financial crisis, as well as the “pandemic” as the motivators – but the real reason is really very different from the official spin.

IMPACT ON PROPERTY RIGHTS

If you own property, I strongly recommend that you read our Alert, which you can find on the following link:

Alert - Is your Property at Risk of Expropriation?

(You can download copies of the law and of the expropriation code on above article – in Portuguese)

For our Portuguese friends, here’s another view on this link:

Nova Lei dá Carta Branca ao Governo Portugês para "Expropriar" todo o tipo de imóveis.

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PRR (PLANO DE RECUPERAÇÃO E RESILIÊNCIA)

Antonio Costa was forced by Brussels to engage with local population by opening a public consultation.

(In Portuguese) … You can read more about it here:

PRR: António Costa não queria ouvir os portugueses, mas Bruxelas obrigou

And as it is our norm on matters of national interest with a special focus on potential impacts for Algarve, we made our submission to the public consultation that closed on 1 March 2021. We focused on the Lithium mining threat up north, and the fact that once again – the health needs for Algarve residents was left out.

A ASMAA Responde à Consulta Pública - Plano de Recuperação e Resilência

I’m not going to bother you with more information for now! What you will read will already give you lots of food for thought.

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BUT WHAT ARE OUR PLANS AS WE MOVE FORWARD?

First thing is take all property owners voices - those that want us to represent them to the Portuguese parliament.  With that in mind we are busy uploading various petitions in electronic format supported by a paper version (In English and Portuguese)

The first one is already up and you can find it on this link:

Stop the threat of fixed property expropriation in Portugal - protect ownership rights.

If you have a problem registering in it, please let us know. Just email us and request other links or a paper petition form.

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Now for the part dealing with funding.

Because we still sit with a debt left from the oil fight in spit of our win we are really very short of money.

If we are to really take this matter further we do need funds to carry-on with this new campaign fighting on your behalf against the expropriation risk that has just been released on 23 February 2021.

We need your help.

We need to raise 5000€ immediately in an endeavor to mobilize all property and landowners across the country to join this fight.

The money will be used immediately for:

• Further research,
• Legal opinions and ongoing legal support,
• Technical opinions from consultants (including architects)
• Graphic designer for marketing collateral
• Facebook Ads
• Traveling and communications

WE HAVE A VERY SHORT WINDOW IN WHICH TO REACT

The Portuguese prime minister has stated that he wants to submit his revised PRR plan by April … we have less than 30 days to start acting – If we want to have any impact, we need to start making noise immediately - before Portugal submits the revised plan to Brussels.

DONATE NOW - HELP US HELP YOU AS WE FIGHT TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY RIGHTS

You can donate money via Paypal - using info@asmaa-algarve.org or go to our website for a direct link - http://asmaa-algarve.org/en/donate

You can also donate funds directly to our bank account: SANTANDER TOTTA (LAGOS ALGARVE) - ASMAA Algarve Surf and Marine Activities Association
IBAN: PT50 0018 0008 02686698020 51

We will be releasing information on a weekly basis. Please make sure that we have your correct email on record as well as your mobile numbers, so that we can reach you quickly if we need to.

Thank you for all the support in the past … may we win this fight too.

Laurinda Seabra

CEO of ASMAA