Here, at the edge of the precipice, as we wait for the step forward, it is more urgent than ever to keep talking about culture. Last week, amid my appeal for reflection on sexism, I left the door open to return to this subject. Today, it proves even more pressing, for the past week has been filled with nostalgia surrounding these issues, sprinkled with one or two glimmers of good news whose promise still awaits fulfillment.

Let us begin with the proposal by the Liberal Initiative (IL) for a complete revision of the RJAAC, the legal framework governing public investment that supports the work of cultural agents in our region. There is much of interest in the document presented, yet it falters through its subtlety, concealed beneath the mantle of “equity.” From its very opening considerations, it reveals a disregard for the concept of culture as a professional activity, reducing it instead to something done in one’s spare time, when there is nothing worthwhile on the reality show around the corner.

The idea is not new. It has returned to the public square not only through this liberal proposal, but also through the voices echoing across newspapers and social media, reviving the familiar notion of culture as “dependent” on subsidies, and branding those who strive to make culture their profession as “parasites” of culture.

Culture is an essential public obligation. The absence of culture is every bit as reprehensible as the actions of the lamentable minister who deprives people of education or the pathetic minister who seeks to privatize hospitals.

Meanwhile, the Regional Council for Culture has reconvened after yet another unproductive meeting with cultural agents, where the very same needs identified one, two, or even three years ago were once again discussed. Perhaps this time those who govern will finally listen to those they are meant to serve.

Reasonable doubt, however, remains—especially when there is the mouth-watering prospect of approving yet another proposal to begin the definitive privatization of another public sector. Since it worked out so splendidly with the postal service, perhaps culture will fare even better…

Finally, a few words of cautious hope, sentiments I have expressed before but which bear repeating.

First, the public statements emerging on various fronts, on behalf of the Regional Government, regarding the commemorations of the 600th anniversary of the Discovery of the Azores. In contrast to Montenegro’s decision to pack as many political dinosaurs as possible into a room, shake them together, and hope that somehow a meaningful celebration of Portugal would emerge, Bolieiro appears to have recognized the need to involve people who are genuinely engaged and possess solid academic and professional credentials to conceive a project that amounts to more than ribbon-cuttings and closed-door ceremonies. I wait, though with measured skepticism.

The same can be said of the National Museum of Nautical and Underwater Archaeology, a project that has now reached Lisbon in order to be established in the Azores. It is the result of a popular mobilization around culture unlike any seen in recent decades. It now depends upon the Government of the Republic, which should be urged forward by those who represent us. I hope that will happen. I have my doubts, but I continue to believe. The Azores deserve no less.

Alexandra Manes is from Flores Island but lives on Terceira Island in the Azores. She is a regular contributor to several Azorean newspapers, a political and cultural activist, and has served in the Azorean Parliament.

NOVIDADES will feature occasional opinion pieces from leading thinkers and writers in the Azores, providing the diaspora and those interested in the current state of the Azores with a sense of the significant perspectives on some of the archipelago’s issues.

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).