Francisco César was elected President of the PS Azores last weekend with 93.3% of the vote.
The new Socialist leader wants to “inaugurate a new way of doing politics” in the region.
“That’s what we set out to do. To inaugurate a new way of doing politics that we hope will, first and foremost, demonstrate to those who vote, to our citizens, to the Azoreans, that the PS is here to help them have a new, more prosperous and brighter future, where everyone truly has a place,” he said.
Speaking to journalists on the night he was elected, Francisco César said that the party will continue to be the opposition but that “being the opposition doesn’t mean being against.”
In this sense, the Socialists say that being the opposition means building, presenting alternatives, agreeing on what is fundamental, on what interests everyone, on what is familiar, such as major works, such as the issue of the airline SATA, and other matters, such as the development of autonomy itself, but also presenting alternative paths in the area of education, health, housing, and the functioning of the welfare state.
He also demonstrated his desire to lead the start of a “new cycle” and a “new future” for the PS.

“The aim of this candidacy, with the results we’ve had and with my election as party president, is to inaugurate a new future here, as I said. We put several areas on the agenda that are, in our view, priorities for the Azores,” he said.
As the main priorities for the mandate, Francisco César admitted that there are no developments “without a real commitment to education, there is no social welfare without affordable housing and a decent income and there is no welfare state, in all its dimensions, such as health, support for children, old age and misfortune, and again, education, without the support of a thriving and diversified economy, which produces with added value and pays workers well.”
Given the result, the new leader affirms that the Socialist Party “is alive, motivated and very committed to building a New Future for the Azores” and that “the expressive result of these elections shows that the militants understand and share the priorities that were established in the Global Orientation Political Motion.”
A total of 4,720 Socialist militants went to the polls at 46 tables spread across the nine islands of the Azores.
In addition to the new Socialist President, 150 delegates were elected to the 19th Ordinary Congress of the PS/Açores, which will be held between September 27 and 29 on the island of São Miguel.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.