[ Nov.2014 ] A bit further down on this street, there is the tourist information office of Monsanto, Portugal.
We asked a staff there to arrange a taxi for travelling around this area.
While we were waiting for the taxi, we talked with him.
The beginning was that we asked if the number of the tourists coming here were increasing.
According to him, the number is decreasing.
He said ” Portuguese people do not have money.
The tax for the government to pay back the debt is too high and people’s living situation is getting worse.
You can buy a very good land around here for 10000 euros.
Would you like one? For Portuguese, we can buy the same land for 2500 euros as there is a special scheme, but no one has got that much money”.
And he continued “The government is corrupt.
That is the problem.
During the dictatorship (from before WW2 to 1974), as long as people did not talk about politics, our life was free and rich”.
It is true that Portuguese average income is the lowest among Western European countries in the EU.
If the wage is low, the foreign capital should be poured in and the country will get wealthier, but it takes time to get there.
