Latest posts by Hugo Ferro
Local Elections in Portugal Confirm Distrust of Political Parties
Abstention, spoilt votes, blank votes and independent candidates. These were the choices of more than half of the potential voters in the recent local elections in Portugal.
Weary of Austerity, Portugal Sings a Song of Revolution
Thousands of Portuguese people have promised a massive anti-austerity protest on March 2, 2013. Leading up to the date, demonstrators have led a campaign to interrupt government ministers during their public appearances by singing a historic song used by revolutionaries who toppled the country's dictatorship in 1974.
Portugal: Digital TV Controversy
A PhD thesis on the process of implementing Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in Portugal presented evidence that the National Communications Authority, ANACOM, favoured private company Portugal Telecom (PT) in the tender. In response, PT and ANACOM have announced that they will take the researcher to court for defamation.
Portugal: Media Sector Struggling in Hard Times
A four-day strike by Portuguese news agency Lusa's workers, against 30% cuts recently announced in the 2013 Budget and more, may represent the starting point for a broader discussion about the role of journalism in democratic societies, in their various forms of organization, financing and distribution.
Portugal: More Austerity, Why's the Revolution Taking So Long?
The Portuguese government led by Pedro Passos Coelho is increasingly distancing itself from its electoral promises and from the path which it promised to follow during the election period, generating a wave of discontent which is manifesting itself primarily on social networks.
Portugal: Public Television on the Way to Being Privatised
“Portugal will be the only country in Europe without a public radio and television service.” This was one of the first outraged reactions on Twitter, soon after the (un)official announcement of the proposal to privatise Portuguese Public Television (RTP) made by government privatisation advisor António Borges.
Portugal: The Dark Side of the National Dam Program
The dams in the Programa Nacional de Barragens (National Dam Program) will cost the Portuguese government €16 billion, to be spent on construction, subsidies and interest on loans. Together with wind farms, they are going to make Portuguese electricity the most expensive in the world.