Your return to parliamentary leadership comes amid opposition to the Regional Government. What priorities do you intend to set for the parliamentary group in this new phase?

The priority is to work hard, to monitor government action, and to present proposals that improve the lives of Azorean families and businesses. The PS must assert itself as a party of solutions, offering viable, feasible proposals that actually improve people’s lives. That is what we did while we had governmental responsibilities, and that is our obligation as a party with a vocation for power, that is, to focus on what really matters, on people, on improving their quality of life, on reducing their monthly expenses, on mitigating the impact of the rising cost of living, and, in the context of businesses and job creation, on ensuring that it is good to invest in the Azores and develop business activity in our region, as it is private initiative that promotes economic and social development.

You have criticized the Regional Government for being “out of touch with the reality” of the Azoreans. What concrete measures do you propose to address the economic and social challenges of the Region?

Yes. Unfortunately, we have seen a pattern of government marked by excessive propaganda and little connection to reality. And the Government has used all the means at its disposal to create and install a narrative that we are better off and that everything is fine. A few days ago, I saw a video promoted on the Government’s social media comparing current tourism indicators with those of 2020, when in 2020 we were in a pandemic with hotels and airports closed. This clearly shows the government’s lack of awareness of propaganda. As for the measures, we will intensify a package aimed at Azorean families and businesses, always with two clear objectives: reducing the monthly burden on families and making life easier, and reducing public costs for enterprises, thereby strongly supporting those who work and promote economic and social development.

The intention to hold a “general assembly” to renew the party and attract independents has been announced. How important is this step?

It is a fundamental step. The PS will not win regional elections with socialists alone. We need socialists and non-socialists who see themselves in a movement to transform Azorean society, which maintains what has been done well, but which has the capacity to introduce new ideas, new dynamics, without any kind of ideological constraints or fear of doing things differently from what the PS did when it was in government. The discussion of our future cannot be the permanent defense of our past. There are things we did well, others we did less well or badly, and we must have the humility to realize this and move forward, integrating into this transformative movement that the PS wants to lead, people from academia, businesses, institutions, young entrepreneurs, young students, young graduates who wish to contribute to more and better ideas for our collective future.

What is your assessment of the results of the last local elections, from the perspective of the PS/Azores, but also from the perspective of regional politics?

I say the same about local elections as I do about all elections. Elections cannot be extrapolated. To think that they can is to dumb down the voters. Fortunately, the level of electoral literacy today is enormous, and people know perfectly well who they are voting for. In the case of local elections, each case is unique, and each municipality is different, so we can discuss 19 distinct realities in a more in-depth analysis of each result. The PS presented thousands of candidates across all the Azores’ islands. In fact, it was the only party that presented candidates in all 19 municipalities in the region. It had a good result and now has to continue working in this area. Those who won must govern the councils and assemblies well, and those who did not win must form a serious and constructive opposition for the good of their land, because that is what must drive us. As for regional political chess, the results in no way detract from the work being done by the regional leadership of the PS Azores under Francisco César, who deserves much credit for the choices he made throughout the region and who must continue to do the opposition work he has been doing in the Azores and the work of representing our region in the Assembly of the Republic.

What is your position on the proposed Regional Budget for 2026?

The PS must act as a promoter of stability, without this representing any reduced combativeness or assertiveness in dealing with the issues and options in the Plan and Budget for 2026. Not to help a poorly governing government, but in favor of the region and the Azoreans. The government says it wants to prioritize the execution of EU funds. Well, we agree with this implementation. We have long warned of the low rates of implementation of EU funds in the Region, even though we have always been an exemplary region in their application in previous EU frameworks. But this cannot mean a general reduction across all sectors of government, or in key areas such as health, education, primary industries, or support for business competitiveness. The truth is that we are currently in a serious financial situation, with the Region’s debt already breaking all records, as a result of the Government’s irresponsibility and poor choices over the last five years. Those who designed and implemented the region’s financial and budgetary policy over the previous five years cannot now cry out for help and hold others responsible when they were the first to be irresponsible. The government wanted to create high expectations to win the 2024 elections. To this end, it said yes to everything and everyone, making political commitments it cannot fulfill, generating expectations irresponsibly, and, in some cases, lying. Now it is entangled in a very difficult financial situation and has had to ask the Government of the Republic for support to guarantee regional co-financing of EU funds and the Recovery and Resilience Plan. In this way, he is adopting an austerity policy, with cuts across virtually all sectors of government in the Plan and Budget for 2026.

How do you view the Regional Government’s actions in Terceira in particular?

With great concern. Terceira Island has been losing competitiveness in the regional context due to the government’s inaction and lack of vision. If we assess public investment over the last five years, we see only the implementation of what was already underway under the Socialist Party government that ruled until 2020. Other than that, there is no new public investment underway that is the sole responsibility of the current government, driven by a new or renewed strategic vision. There is nothing new that the post-2020 government has thought out, created, or implemented. There is no strategic vision for the future. Not only is there nothing new, but there has always been a stupid attempt to destroy what was well done, just for partisan revenge. Consider the unacceptable way in which the Regional Government destroyed Terceira Tech Island, which should have been growing and consolidating itself, and is now a mere mirage of what it once was and could have been. One only has to walk around our island to see the poor state of repair of the roads, agricultural paths, and the deterioration of public buildings, schools, and public infrastructure. There is widespread neglect in public management on Terceira Island that concerns us greatly and could condemn the island to years of irrelevance in the regional context, something we all have an obligation to counteract.

in Diário Insular-José Lourenço-director

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