Welcome to the Week em Breve, a wrap-up of important Portuguese news to keep you up to date and in the know.
Election results are in: centre-right scrape by as far-right makes gains
Portugal’s ruling party, the centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD), won Sunday’s snap legislative election with nine more seats than in 2024, but failed to gain a majority.
This is the third election in as many years and was called after Prime Minister Luis Montenegro failed to win a vote of confidence he called in the wake of mounting criticism of his family law firm and its contracts with entities doing business with the state.
“The Portuguese don’t want any more snap elections, they want a four-year legislature,” Montenegro said to his supporters following the results, Reuters reports.
The far-right Chega party gained more ground that expected and is now vying for second place with the Socialist Party (PS).
PS only had about 50,000 more votes than Chega, losing 20 seats as a result — a serious setback for one of the country’s major parties.
With domestic votes counted, AD, with 31.1% of the electorate voting for it, now has 89 of the 230 seats in the Assembleia da República.
Chega, which received 23.38%, and PS, which had 22.56%, are each set to have 58 seats as of Monday afternoon, according to Público.
Chega received only 12 seats when it first emerged in the 2022 election and 49 seats in the 2024 election.
Votes from abroad, which are not yet counted, will decide which of the parties takes second position.
If Chega wins the emigrant vote, it will be the first time in almost 40 years that the socialists haven’t been in one of the top spots, Reuters reports.
Socialist Party leader Pedro Nuno Santos said he will step down following the poor results.
Young men vote for the far right more than women
In Portugal, young men are almost five times more likely to vote for far-right parties than young women, according to a recent report covered by Público.
The report found that for every young woman in Portugal that votes far-right, 4.9 young men do. This is the second highest proportion in the EU, only behind Croatia.
The trend is similar across Europe, with 17.2% of men under 25 voting for far-right parties in the 2024 European Parliament elections, according to the report, Público writes.
Javier Carbonell, who authored the report, says that the voting gap may have its roots in the economy.
The report also states the need to “redefine masculinity” with better support for men’s mental health, normalising emotional vulnerability, and combating gender-based violence, Público reports.
Portuguese families fleeing America
Portuguese families are leaving the United States to avoid forced deportations, the Herald News reports.
Between 15 and 20 families have “self-deported” back to the Azores following Trump’s crackdowns on immigration, according to the American non-profit Immigrants’ Assistance Center, the paper reports.
There are about 1,000 undocumented families in Greater Fall River, Massachusetts, who are now planning to return to Western Portugal and the Azores Islands, according to the paper.
Immigrants’ Assistance Center president Helena da Silva Hughes was invited to talks with the Azorean government and other regional agencies to understand how to support the returning residents.
She said the biggest challenge is educating American children, the Herald News reports.
Tuk-tuks fined as new rules come into effect
April was the first month of new rules for “tourist vehicles,” especially tuk-tuks, and saw the number of reported offences rise from 169 to 766 per month, Público reports.
The rules are an attempt to limit the impact of tuk-tuks and similar vehicles on the city’s public spaces, especially the historic center.
The offences that led to the jump include disobeying no-stopping or parking signs, stopping or parking on pedestrian crossings and sidewalks, and parking at bus stops, Público reports.
It’s worth noting that these new rules also apply to all ridesharing app vehicles (akak “TVDE” — Transporte de Passageiros por Aplicativos: Uber, Bolt, etc.), so these infractions are not exclusive to tuk-tuks.
Rental homes snapped up in under a day
Almost a fifth of Portuguese houses below €750/month are rented in 24 hours, Diário do Dístrito reports, citing a new report from real estate listings site idealista.
This year, around 9% of homes advertised for rent were gone in under 24 hours, rising to 19% for those with rents under €750/month, according to the publication.
In Lisbon, 17% of homes with rents up to €750/month were rented in less than 24 hours.
Healthcare woes in Portugal
At the end of April, 15.4% of people registered with the National Health Service (Serviço Nacional de Saúde – SNS) – or about 1.63 million people – did not have a family doctor, Público reports.
This is an increase of 4.3% compared to the same time last year, when around 1.57 million people didn’t have one.
It’s worth noting that the overall number of people registered with the SNS also increased by about 2%, and coverage fluctuates on a monthly basis, Público reports.
The SNS is also suffering from a shortage of nurses, with a deficit of about 14,000 staff, according to Público.
This is leading to overwork, and, combined with low pay, is pushing Portuguese nurses abroad, the publication writes.
Last year, 1,574 nurses requested declarations to practice abroad, which is equivalent to over half of all the nurses qualified to practice in 2024, according to Público.
What’s up with the football
For anyone confused about crying or cheering football fans in Lisbon on Saturday and Sunday: Sporting beat out rivals Benfica to win Portugal’s Primeira Liga title.
The day started with the Lisbon rivals neck and neck, but after a 2-0 victory for Sporting over Vitoria and a 1-1 draw between Benfica and Braga, Sporting took the points.
