Luís Garcia urges a stronger role for municipalities and parishes, emphasizing that the next political challenge lies in bringing public decisions closer to citizens.
The Azores must strengthen the role of municipalities and parishes in regional decision-making, according to Luís Garcia, President of the Regional Legislative Assembly, who identified closer coordination between regional and local authorities as a priority for the coming decades. Speaking during celebrations marking 50 years of Azorean autonomy, Garcia argued that the region must look beyond its relationship with Lisbon and reconsider how political responsibilities are distributed within the archipelago.
“A stronger autonomy requires strong, responsible, and actively participating municipalities and parishes,” Garcia stated during a commemorative session entitled Ribeira Grande in Transformation: Half a Century of Autonomy, held Saturday on São Miguel Island.
Garcia’s remarks come as the Azores commemorate the political and administrative system established under Portugal’s democratic Constitution of 1976, following the April 25 Revolution. Over five decades, regional institutions have contributed to the expansion of education, healthcare, social services, and infrastructure, transforming living conditions across the islands.
Ribeira Grande illustrates some of those changes. The municipality’s population has increased from slightly more than 28,000 inhabitants in the first census following the establishment of autonomy to more than 32,000 today, making it one of the youngest municipalities in the region. Its economy has also diversified, with more than 3,000 businesses recorded in 2024.
Despite these achievements, Garcia acknowledged persistent difficulties involving housing, healthcare, education, transportation, youth retention, and economic diversification. Territorial inequalities remain particularly challenging in an archipelago where geography and population distribution influence access to public services and economic opportunities.
“A mature autonomy is one that has the capacity to recognize what still needs to be done,” he declared, emphasizing that the anniversary should encourage an assessment of unresolved problems alongside the achievements of the past.
The parliamentary president advocated applying the principle of subsidiarity more consistently, allowing decisions to be taken at the level of government best positioned to respond to citizens’ needs. He called for clearer responsibilities and shared objectives among regional institutions, municipalities, and parish councils, while preserving their respective legal powers.
His intervention also coincided with the 50th anniversary of democratic local government in Portugal. Garcia described municipal democracy and regional self-government as complementary achievements of the democratic transition, both intended to strengthen public participation and institutional accountability.
The proposal places local governance at the center of discussions about the Azores’ future, particularly as communities confront demographic pressures, housing shortages, and the need for more diversified economic opportunities.
For Garcia, the challenge ahead is not simply to expand political authority, but to ensure that existing institutions use it effectively. Fifty years after the establishment of regional autonomy, he argued, the measure of its success must ultimately be the quality of public services, the opportunities available to citizens, and the ability of individual communities to influence their own development.
Based on a Press release from ALRAA