Adolfo Mesquita Nunes: Behind Portugal's New Free-Market Tourism

Why you should care

This young, right-wing politician is garnering support while attracting tourists to his crisis-hit nation.

Adolfo Mesquita Nunes: Behind Portugal's New Free-Market Tourism 38104_ad

Adolfo Mesquita Nunes: Behind Portugal's New Free-Market Tourism 38104_ad

"A free spirit.” That’s what people call Adolfo Mesquita Nunes.

For starters, this short, strong-minded 37-year-old doesn’t exactly dress like the conservative politician of the mind’s eye. Sitting on the terrace of a fancy bar overlooking Lisbon, wearing Ray-Ban sunglasses and bright yellow suspenders, he looks more like a rogue financial trader.

He exudes self-assurance — maybe too much — and doesn’t care for formalities. He starts our interview by showering me with questions about my stay in Portugal, but eventually I turn the tables: “How does it feel to be responsible for an industry that generates a tenth of Portugal’s GDP?”

Mesquita is the country’s eccentric secretary of state for tourism, and his unique style and apparent success are making him a political darling among the right-wing ranks of the People’s Party (CDS-PP), part of Portugal’s ruling coalition. He’s also an enfant terrible: a supporter of not just economic liberty, but social liberty, including gay rights and abortion rights.

“Freedom is the most important political value for me. It comes before anything else,” he says. “So when somebody comes to me, my first question is never, ‘How can I help?’ but ‘What can I do to let the market do what it wants?’”

Since Mesquita got the job nearly two years ago, Portugal’s tourism industry has taken off, though it’s hard to say how much is his doing. Last year, tourist arrivals hit a record — over 14 million, more than Portugal’s 10 million people — and the first half of 2014 is up 12 percent over 2013. In this economically depressed country with 15.2 percent unemployment, tourism generated 20 percent of new jobs last year.

Why do they come? Cheap prices and sunshine, of course. But this young politician, single, childless and with his own serious travel bug, has aimed to expand his country’s appeal beyond sun-and-sea destinations like the Algarve. More visitors are coming to Lisbon and the northern city of Porto for food and culture.

http://www.ozy.com/rising-stars-and-provocateurs/adolfo-mesquita-nunes-portugals-libertarian-tourism-ambassador/33467.article
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Anarcho-Capitalist, AnCaps Forum, Ancapolis, OZschwitz Contraband
“The state calls its own violence law, but that of the individual, crime.”-- Max Stirner
"Remember: Evil exists because good men don't kill the government officials committing it." -- Kurt Hofmann

Adolfo Mesquita Nunes: Behind Portugal's New Free-Market Tourism

Adolfo Mesquita Nunes: Behind Portugal's New Free-Market Tourism

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