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de Andrade, Sérgio
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4 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
A good year for Portugal
Portugal had little to be happy about in the crisis year 2010, but Sérgio Andrade says it was a good year - compared with what awaits it in 2011. He comments in his weekly column for the daily Jornal de Notícias: "For just once I will be an optimist and I will also be a pessimist. My optimism is for the year drawing to an end, for we have been able to observe that people can be generous. For weeks we have been pursued by institutions and broadcasters asking us to donate for the poor. ... It's just a pity that this national wave of solidarity only wells up at Christmas - as if the unfortunate didn't eat the rest of the year round. My pessimism is directed at the coming year. For we have been warned: it will all get only worse than it already is. Salaries and pensions will be cut and price increases are our traditional way of welcoming in the New Year nowadays. ... As if 2010 wasn't bad enough, the prospects for 2011 are even worse."
» full article (external link, Portuguese)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Economy, » Society, » Portugal
Generosity should not be limited to Christmas
The daily Jornal de Notícias recalls the inequalities rampant in society and wishes that people would be generous not only at Christmas: "In many countries it seems people have decided that December is the month when everyone must be good. Plastic bags are pressed into our hands in the supermarkets for us to fill with groceries for the poor. Celebrations are organised at hospitals to bring a moment's happiness to the sick, and every radio and television station has its own charity campaign. Then after January 6 things go back to normal and we go back to being less generous. How do the poor and sick survive the rest of the year? ... Unfortunately not even Christmas can make me forget how much evil there is in this world. People die of hunger while a well-known football player complains he earns less than 15,000 euros a month. Others are homeless while bank managers are being investigaed for filling their pockets with millions every day. As long as such gross inequalities exist in society our generosity should not be limited to Christmas!"
» full article (external link, Portuguese)
More from the press review on the subject » Minorities, » Weltanschauung, » Global
Portugal adopts a pragmatic energy policy
A bilateral agreement has been signed as a result of the visit Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez paid Portugal on November 20th. It will allow Portugal to import approximately 100,000 barrels of petrol per year. Sérgio de Andrade questions this deal. "What are the criteria for pure democracy? ... Venezuela is indeed a rather bizarre country. Its president closes down 'bothersome' media. This is not the case in China... where they are simply not allowed. Does Beijing deserve commercial discussions any less than Caracas? A certain pragmatism was necessary in the face of so much idealism. Our Prime Minister [José Socrates] took care of that. ... Venezuela, which counts 400,000 Portuguese inhabitants, is the fourth biggest petrol supplier in the world. And Chavez has insisted that he wants it to be 'a source of energy for Portugal'."
» full article (external link, Portuguese)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Energy, » Portugal, » Latin Amerika
The disappearance of a child has unleashed hysteria in Portugal
Sergio Andrade explores the hysterical climate that has been prevailing in Portugal for ten days following the disappearance of a little English girl. "The television channels have thrown pounced onto the affair and are shamelessly exploiting it. With his back up against the wall, the President of the Republic has had to confess that he is 'worried, whilst maintaining hope'. ... The government has announced that it will pay the parents of the little girl for their enforced stay in Portugal, wrongly endorsing the guilt of the regime and the country's institutions. So whose turn will it be after the president and the government ? Parliament's ? The media is investigating other aspects of the problem as the days go by. They are interviewing Portuguese families with who have suffered the disappearance of a child. All of them note that the police didn't act as strongly as in the present case. What has changed ? The answer can be found in the headline of the 'Jornal de Noticas': 'The country is in search of the little blue-eyed girl'. How strange ! ... These days I feel like I'm seeing Portugal act like a fourth-world country."
» full article (external link, Portuguese)
More from the press review on the subject » Audiovisual Media, » Print media, » Portugal
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