The President of the Government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolieiro, yesterday advocated changing article six of the Constitution, which defines Portugal as a “Unitary State” to an “Atlantic, Archipelago and Decentralized State,” in a future constitutional revision.

José Manuel Bolieiro was speaking at a conference entitled “Autonomy and Regional Government” held at the Conceição Palace in Ponta Delgada as part of the 49th National Defense Course 2024/2025 (CDN24/25) visit to the Autonomous Region of the Azores.

The event, organized by the National Defence Institute (IDN), was attended by a delegation led by Colonel João Assis Barbas, director of the CDN, and Colonel José Teixeira Leite, deputy director of the course, as well as around 50 auditors from various sectors of Portuguese society.

At the time, the President of the Government argued that in terms of “constitutional and legal reconfiguration of the state’s identity, we could have more pedagogy for the future and a practical and more conceptual reality, if we began to understand our country, even for its global projection, as an Atlantic, archipelagic and decentralizing country.”

In this context, he felt that “there is sometimes an attitude of constriction, of diminishment, in the conscience of the citizens, which I think needs to be eliminated.”

“How often,” he said, ”we understand the territory in terms of its terrestrial and demographic smallness and not in terms of its Atlantic, maritime, and spatial grandeur. This is how we could, through a solution of recognizing what we have with other reflections and other dialectics (…) and being an archipelago, Atlantic and decentralized country,” which, in his opinion, ”would give us the ballast to begin to reason that our territory is not just its most residual limits, terrestrial and demographic, for these other Atlantic, maritime and archipelago domains.” Not least because, he stressed, this position “repositions and strengthens the country in its geopolitical and geostrategic relevance of the Azores for Portugal and the European Union.

“The Azores add dimension to Portugal and the European Union, not only because of their strategic position in the Atlantic but also because of their contribution to security and defense in Europe,” said José Manuel Bolieiro.

The president thus highlighted the importance of the Azores’ sea and space in the global context, defending the vision of an archipelagic country with an Atlantic border that is decisive for its international weight. “Portugal must fully assume its role as an Atlantic country, in which the Azores are an unavoidable strategic asset, reinforcing our role in the European Union and in the world,” he stressed in a speech to which we will return.

Concerning regional autonomy, José Manuel Bolieiro argued that it does not weaken but rather enhances and adds value to the country, reinforcing the Azores’ contribution to national identity.

José Manuel Bolieiro also praised IDN’s choice to include the Azores in the National Defence Course program, recognizing the archipelago’s importance as a space for strategic debate and reflection on the country’s security and defense. The National Defence Course, organized annually by IDN, aims to foster dialogue between National Defence and civil society, addressing Political Science, International Relations, Strategy, Economics, Security, and Defense issues.

In Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros, director

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.