The language in which the Portuguese Nobel Prize winner José Saramago wrote, the Cape Verdean Cesária Évora sang, the Brazilian Chico Barque used to sing and the Mozambican Mia Couto continues to write. In 2019, UNESCO officially proclaimed May 5th as ‘World Portuguese Language Day. With more than 260 million speakers over five continents (200 […]
‘Portugal is becoming a country of minimum wages’ Joana Gonçalves is 47 years old and works for 20 years as an operating assistant at the same hospital. Last year she earned 665 euros per month, just as much as the minimum wage. Deducting € 103,08 for Social Security and adding a food allowance of € […]
One in three is simply not happy Although the number of students in higher education has expanded over the last decades, strong social inequalities – in terms of access and dropout rates – persist in Portugal. Even after graduation, the poorest students continue to face a greater risk of unemployment. These are the main conclusions […]
Historically, flags were used for identification in battles.The oldest national flag is Denmark’s 13th-century flag with its white cross on a red background. The legend goes that it was sent from Heaven to help the army during the Battle of Lyndanisse in 1219.It inspired the cross design of the other Scandinavian countries – Norway, Sweden, […]
Drought is the ‘new normal’ in Portugal Portugal has been ravaged by extreme drought. Since October there has been hardly any precipitation and in February it rained only 7% of normal. Drought not only compromises agriculture and livestock but lack of vegetation will also lead to an increase in CO2, wildfires, poverty, and emigration. The […]
Sepharad is the Hebrew name of the Iberian Peninsula In the last five years, 32,000 of the 86.500 (37%) applications for Portuguese citizenship have been granted to descendants of Sephardic Jews, expelled from Portugal 525 years ago. More than 50.000 requests are still under review. The majority of the applicants come from Israel, Brazil, and […]
In 2001, under the leadership of former prime minister António Guterres – nowadays UN’s Secretary-General – Portugal became the first country to decriminalize the possession and consumption of drugs. Twenty years later, the first controlled drug consumption room – also known as the ‘chuto’ (shot) room – opened in Lisbon. In six months nearly 900 […]
‘Absolute majority doesn’t mean absolute power’ (António Costa) Against all odds, Portugal’s centre-left Socialists won a straight parliamentary majority in last week’s general election, securing a strong new mandate for Prime Minister António Costa. It is for the first time the Socialists have won an absolute majority after six years in power. This means the […]
‘Re-privatisation is not on the table’ – (Pedro Nuno Santos, Minister of Infrastructure) TAP (Transportes Aéreos Portugueses) was created in 1945 and nationalised in 1975. During the financial crisis, the center-right government of Pedro Passos Coelho decided in June 2015 to sell the company to the AtlanticGateway consortium (David Neeleman in partnership with Humberto Pedrosa), […]
‘Nothing about women without us’ – Xiomara Castro, President of Honduras Despite low healthy life expectancy in later life, barriers in career progression, underpayment, increased unemployment, and a substantial risk of becoming a victim of gender-based violence – as discussed before – there are also some positive developments as far as Portuguese women are concerned. […]