(DRAFT)

● The Making of Modern State

- Portugal was founded in 1143, the year the Treaty of Zamora was
signed. A treaty agreed between his D. Afonso Henriques, the first
king of Portugal, and Alfons VII of Leon and Castile recognized
Portugal as an independent kingdom. In 1179, it was granted this
status by Pope Alexander III. approved.
- From the 12th century to his 13th century, the Portuguese king
conquered the Algarve and expanded its borders to unite the
region, which remains largely unchanged to this day. Once borders
were defined, Portugal began to turn inward. At the end of the 13th
century, King D. Dinis founded the prestigious University of
Coimbra, one of his oldest universities in Europe. Castles, palaces
and cathedrals were built in the most important centers to
strengthen territorial control. In 1385, following a popular
movement, D. João I ascended the throne, beginning the Second
Dynasty. The sons of D. João I and D. Filipa de Lencastre, by Luiz
Vaz de Camões (“Os Lusíadas”), by virtue of their humanism,
education and learning, as a noble generation of the Great Princes
(Ínclita geração, altos Infantes) will be accepted. Appreciate your
leadership skills. One of them will go down in history as the
visionary leader who made his discovery one of mankind's greatest
adventures possible. Thanks to the impulses of the infant D.
Enrique, also known as Henri the Navigator, Portuguese caravels
used the best scientific and practical knowledge of their time to
cross the seas. In the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries, they sailed
through Africa, the Far East, and the heart of South America. They
conquered lands, amassed wealth, and brought unprecedented
things to Europe.
- Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to India in 1498, and
Pedro Alvarez Cabral reached Brazil in 1500. The Portuguese still
reach Oman (1508), Malasia (1511), Timor (1512), China (1513)
and Japan (1543). From 1519 to 1522 he planned and directed the
first circumnavigation of the world, also by the Portuguese Fernán
de Magalhaes (sometimes called Magellan). This may be the
beginning of globalization. During this period, especially to
celebrate his arrival in India, King D. Manuel built the Jerónimos
Monastery (a unique building in which nautical motifs are very
present) and inserted an armillary sphere into the Portuguese flag.
The Little Kingdom was at the time the largest empire in the world.
 Portugal gathered sages and mercenaries, scientists and painters,
businessmen and poets, slaves and princes. so much power and
wealth

● Political Economy and Development

- Portugal was the richest country in the world when its colonial empires in
Asia, Africa, and South America were at their height. However, this wealth
was not used to build the domestic industrial infrastructure, so gradually
Portugal became one of the poorest countries in Western Europe from the
19th century to the 20th century. In 1986, Portugal joined the European
Economic Community (which was eventually taken over by the European
Union (EU)), impelling economic growth. Like other Western European
countries, Portugal’s economy is currently dominated by the service
sector. Manufacturing accounts for the majority of production, while
agricultural production is relatively small accounting for less than 3% of
production.
- By the early 21st century, economic growth had dramatically improved
living standards, increased incomes, and reduced unemployment.
Moreover, the succession to the EU made sustainable development
possible with large inflows of structural finances, private capital, and direct
investment. The steady expansion of economic freedom has continued
over the past years, due to the increase in rule of law and fiscal health.
- After the severe pandemic-related recession, the economy regained
momentum in 2021, with the GDP above pre-pandemic levels in the first
quarter of 2022. The recovery was fueled by strong domestic demand and
a rebound in tourism and the broad political support sustained job and
income growth and safeguarded financial stability.
 - According to Portugal Economic Snapshot - OECD, their current growing
GDP of 5.4% in 2022 and 1.7% in 2023 is supported by public solid
investment boosted by EU funds and a recovery in tourism exports must
support the rally because of the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia
that will affect their supply chain disruptions and rising energy and
commodity prices will weigh on economic activity and reduce in
purchasing power.

● Governance and Policy Making

- After overthrowing the Monarchy in 1920, Portugal has since been a
republic. They have gone through parliamentary democracy, authoritarian
government, and even a dictatorship. Now, Portugal is a semi-presidential
representative democratic republic.

- The President is elected for a five-year term (only up to 2 consecutive

terms). His duties include: serving as chief commander of the armed forces,
appointing the prime minister (which must be supported by the majority of the
Assembly), and other government members.

- The cabinet comprises the prime minister, ministers, and secretaries of the
state. Their responsibilities include administrative and policy-making functions,
national security and defense affairs, and day-to-day implementation of
government policy. The Prime Minister holds the most executive power, is
responsible to the president (regarding the overall functioning of governmental
institutions) and parliament (regarding the content of public policy). The prime
minister directs, coordinates, and implements government policy.

- The Assembly of the Republic, or simply the parliament, is composed of a

maximum of 230 deputies elected for a four-year term. Among their duties are:
debating and voting upon legislation, and approving the laws passed by the
 legislatures of the autonomous regions

- Judiciary branch is independent of the executive and legislative branches.

The highest judicial organ is the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. The Constitutional
Tribunal has 13 justices appointed by parliament. A jury system was introduced
with the 1976 constitution.

- The Local Government has three tiers: (from lowest to highest):

❖ Parishes (freguesias)
❖ Municipalities (concelhos)
❖ Districts (districts)

● Current Issues

Portugal’s Sluggish Legal System

- Portugal has the slowest legal system in all of Europe. This bureaucratic
system, which has a nepotistic and deceptive culture, was passed down to
the Portuguese public state. In this structure, maintaining connections with
subordinates takes precedence over ensuring efficiency; the syndicates
also encourage this conduct because they can carry out several attacks.

Rampancy of Corruption
 - According to the EU study on corruption, 90% of Portuguese people
believe that corruption is pervasive, which is higher than the EU average
of 76%. In Portugal, there have been numerous high-profile corruption
scandals involving government officials, corporate leaders, and politicians.

Poverty and Inflation

Poverty in Portugal has been increasing, the Survey on Income and Living
Conditions held in 2021 on previous year's incomes shows that 18.4% of
the population was at-risk-of-poverty in 2020, 2.2 percentage points (pp)
more than in 2019. The at-risk-of-poverty rate in 2020 corresponded to the
proportion of inhabitants with an annual net equivalent monetary income
below EUR 6,653 (EUR 554 per month). The problem of poverty has
worsened with the climb of the inflation rate to 8.9 percent in August of
2022, Prices advanced at a softer pace for transport (10.4 percent vs. 12.9
percent in July), housing & utilities (14.9 percent vs. 16.6 percent), and
recreation & culture (4.0 percent vs. 4.3 percent). On the other hand,
prices rose faster for food & non-alcoholic (15.3 percent vs. 13.9 percent),
miscellaneous goods & services (2.7 percent vs. 2.5 percent), and
restaurants & hotels (16.3 percent vs. 14.8 percent). Meanwhile, core
consumer prices, excluding energy and unprocessed food products,
accelerated to 6.5 percent from the 6.2 percent increase in the previous
month

● Representation and Participation

- Members of the Assembly of the Republic are elected from lists of parties
or coalitions of parties. Votes are converted into seats using the
proportional representation system and the “d’Hondt’s highest-average
rule.”
 - Members represent the entire country and not only the constituencies that
elect them. Their term of office is four years, which equates to one
legislature.
- All citizens at least age 18 are eligible to vote. Voters directly elect the
president and members of the Assembly of the Republic. Elections to the
Assembly of the Republic must occur at least once every four years; seats
are apportioned to parties (voters cast ballots for party lists rather than
individual candidates) based on proportional representation in multi-seat
constituencies.

REFERENCES:

Portugal Economic Snapshot - OECD. (n.d.). Retrieved September 21, 2022,

from https://www.oecd.org/economy/portugal-economic-snapshot/

Portugal Economy: Population, GDP, Inflation, Business, Trade, FDI, Corruption.

(n.d.). Index of Economic Freedom. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from

https://www.heritage.org/index/country/portugal

Portugal - Economy. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved September 21,

2022, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Portugal/Economy

Portugal: Policies for a Strong Economy. (2022, June 30). IMF. Retrieved

September 21, 2022, from

https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2022/06/30/CF-Portugal-Policies-for-a-Stro

ng-Economy
 Portugal - Government and society. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved

September 21, 2022, from

https://www.britannica.com/place/Portugal/Government-and-society

Electoral System. (n.d.). Assembleia Da Republica.

The Council of Ministers. (n.d.). U.S. Library of Congress.

“Extent of Public Corruption in Portugal.” Worlddata.Info,

www.worlddata.info/europe/portugal/corruption.php. Accessed 21 Sept. 2022.

“Subscribe to Read | Financial Times.” Subscribe to Read | Financial Times,

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2022.

“Portugal Archives.” Amnesty International,

www.amnesty.org/en/location/europe-and-central-asia/portugal/report-portugal.
Accessed 21 Sept. 2022.

“Portugal Inflation Rate - August 2022 Data - 1961-2021 Historical - September

Forecast.” Portugal Inflation Rate - August 2022 Data - 1961-2021 Historical -
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in,%26%20utilities%20(14.9%20percent%20vs. Accessed 21 Sept. 2022.

“Statistics Portugal - Web Portal.” Statistics Portugal - Web Portal,

ine.pt/xportal/xmain?xpid=INE&xpgid=ine_destaques&DESTAQUESdest_boui=473578
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“History.” Permanent Mission of Portugal to the United Nations,

onu.missaoportugal.mne.gov.pt/en/about-portugal/history. Accessed 21 Sept. 2022.