The Torre Bela political experiment took place during the turbulent period that followed the Carnation Revolution, a time marked by profound social change and widespread land occupations throughout the Alentejo and Ribatejo regions. In 1975, rural workers occupied this vast abandoned estate and reorganised it as an agricultural cooperative. Management became collective, with decisions taken in assemblies, reflecting the ideals of self-management and agrarian reform that characterised the so-called Ongoing Revolutionary Process (PREC). The experiment became a symbol of the tensions between competing political visions, ranging from revolutionary socialism to the restoration of more traditional forms of private property.
The documentary Torre Bela, directed by the German filmmaker Thomas Harlan, captured this collective experiment in a direct and often unflinching manner. The film follows the workers and the internal conflicts that emerged throughout the process, revealing both the revolutionary enthusiasm and the practical difficulties of self-management. More than a simple documentary record, Torre Bela has become an essential historical document for understanding that unique moment in Portuguese history, when different visions of society were simultaneously being contested and constructed.
At Torre Bela, recent controversy has centred on a hunting drive held in December 2020, during which approximately 540 animals—mostly deer and wild boar—were killed in a single day, an episode widely described as a massacre. The incident led to the temporary suspension of the environmental assessment process for a large photovoltaic plant planned for the estate, prompting public criticism and speculation about the relationship between the management of the hunting reserve and the preparation of the land for the energy project.
The project was subsequently approved by the Portuguese Environment Agency through a conditional favourable opinion. However, the environmental impact assessment drew criticism for treating the existing wildlife populations as largely irrelevant, classifying them as game species “without particular conservation interest” and proposing no specific protective measures in that regard. Furthermore, none of the conditions imposed by the approval addressed the hunting reserve directly, despite the entire solar plant being located within its boundaries, reflecting an approach that appeared to place greater emphasis on the implementation of energy infrastructure than on animal protection.
Excluindo as imagens criadas pelo autor deste blog, as imagens utilizadas neste post têm as seguintes lincenças:
Filme Torre Bela: Thomas Harlan / Medeia FIlmes https://medeiafilmes.com/filmes/torre-bela
Animais mortos dispostos para exposição: https://www.jornaldenegocios.pt/empresas/energia/detalhe/agencia-do-ambiente-aprova-central-fotovoltaica-na-herdade-da-torre-bela
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