A society is also measured by the way it takes care of its most fragile. And that’s where Portugal continues to fail. The country’s greatest difficulties remain off the public agenda, as if poverty were an inconvenient topic.
Despite the rate having fallen from 23% in 1994 to 16.6% in 2023, we continue “with 1.76 million people in a situation of poverty”, which “constitutes a social scourge that hinders the possibilities of socioeconomic development” (data from the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation).
And if “there was a decline in the poverty rate for children and young people to 17.8%”, at the same time “there was a strong worsening in the poverty rate for the elderly, which rose to 21.1% in 2023”. Now, isn’t this type of reality, vulnerable children and elderly people, what should be at the top of the political agenda?
The political agenda, however, diverts attention. While structural problems persist, we see the debate taking other routes: internal conflicts within the parties, budget cuts and seams that have little or no impact on the daily lives of the majority, loose talk about “modernization” that remains unanswered. powerpoint political, and also the threatening burkas and a labor package that passes through the raindrops as something unimportant. With humor, or with some hurt, we could say that we have a “high-speed” government for cabinet matters and an “old van” for social transition. Because “modernization” is taking place on political Instagram while the elderly see their pensions stagnate, families exchange employment for precariousness and rural areas continue to be excluded from digital connections and the value-added economy.
If we want a democratic, prosperous and cohesive society, we cannot continue to let minor issues, or just media issues, dominate the agenda. Because more than heated debates on television, what matters is that a Portuguese child has the conditions to be born, grow and stay; that an elderly person does not live in economic insecurity; that medium-sized companies can contribute to a circular economy; and that citizens trust institutions because they see results.
In short: we need a political agenda that measures the breadth of the problems, not the size of the flashes. Because, “if the planet is burning”, as they say, it would be appropriate for us here in Portugal to put out the social fires first.
Journalist and writer