The year that is now beginning may pose existential challenges to the autonomous system that was imposed on us as a model of governance following the Carnation Revolution of 1974.

To put it bluntly… – The Azoreans were promised that autonomy would guarantee sufficiently harmonious development, and this did not happen. Autonomy would probably have been rejected without the lure of harmonious development. Over the years, fierce centralism in Ponta Delgada has become increasingly evident, while the rest of the island of São Miguel and the other islands of the Azores have been languishing.

SATA “jet” was created to bring tourists to São Miguel, and this option is taking years off our lives. This fact is not irrelevant. The Azoreans are not asleep—they realize that everyone is paying for the benefits of a few. EDA was established at the expense of all the islands and centralized in São Miguel, assuming a monopoly of extremely dubious contours. EDA is taking years off our lives. And money by the bucketful.

These are just two examples that are significant in terms of the broken promise of harmonious development.

There isn’t enough space here to explain more, but there is one example we can’t resist mentioning, which is the centralization of air transport in Ponta Delgada with a distribution that favors this “capital,” as happened very recently with the alleged increase in flights to Terceira.

Significant population declines and an aging population are affecting many islands.

The problem can only be solved with a thriving economy—and there is no sign of that on the horizon. What we do see is Lisbon refusing to honor its commitments, for example, to nursing homes, which is relevant in aging islands, and the Region getting bogged down in arguments—or mudslinging. Perhaps the latter is the best definition.

A lot has accumulated. And 2026 may be a decisive year for the Azoreans to realize whether autonomy is worthwhile or not.

We are convinced that autonomy is not a value in itself for the Azoreans. It has to be functional. It has to be worthwhile – which means that either it yields “Olympic” minimums or it will most likely be discarded. The Azoreans are patient. But patience has its limits.

As a renowned historian wrote, in 1974-76, the Azores lacked autonomists. There was no school, as there had been in previous situations. Original sin is always present in our daily lives. And now it is too late. Either Autonomy pays off—or it can be discarded!