Portugal
Portugal has been an overall mid-range performing democracy in the Global State of Democracy’s quantitative indices since 1976, except between 1996 and 1998, when its democratic performance was high. Portugal’s modern-day democracy was born between 1974 and 1976, the period between the Carnation Revolution (which brought down the authoritarian regime of the Estado Novo) and the promulgation of the country’s democratic constitution. Over the years, Portugal has consistently performed at a high level in Representative Government, Fundamental Rights and Checks on Government; its performance in Local Democracy has been well above the European average.
Since the adoption of the 1976 Constitution, Portugal has held periodic free and fair elections, strengthened the independence of the judiciary by introducing multiple reforms to guide the transformation towards a citizen-centered system, and balanced the power of the executive and legislative through a strong regime of checks and balances. The country’s economy is dominated by services and manufacturing. In the past five years, Portugal has struggled with cases of corruption and police violence, which can explain the recent declines in Personal Integrity and Security and Predictable Enforcement.
Portugal’s political landscape has changed in recent years, marked by the rise of far-right political parties, which find supporters amongst those who are frustrated with phenomena that resulted from the pandemic, including lower wages and restrictions on certain freedoms. Some far-right parties also use these frustrations to win support for the view that minorities are unfairly benefiting from state subsidies, paid for by the middle class. In contrast to these views, public surveys clearly show the existence of discrimination, with the Council of Europe also raising concerns about police violence and ill-treatment of prisoners in Portugal, particularly targeting persons of African descent. Another important challenge is corruption, highlighted by Operação Marquês, a 2014 investigation that has led to the arrest and prosecution of several prominent politicians and business leaders, including former Prime Minister José Sócrates. While Portugal has experienced an improvement in gender equality, performing above the European average, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women noted the absence of a law prohibiting femicide and an increase in dismissals of pregnant women from employment.
Looking ahead, it will be important to watch Impartial Administration, particularly in view of issues with drawn-out investigations and court judgments leading to delayed accountability for cases of corruption. It will also be important to watch Fundamental Rights, especially in light of reported cases of discrimination against marginalized groups and police violence. There are also important signs of change to watch, including the reported increase in Roma children’s school enrolment rates, the provision of grants and scholarships to Roma students, the introduction of reforms to promote affordable student housing, the establishment of migrant support centres, and the identification of the violation of migrant workers’ rights carried out by the Labour Inspectorate.
Monthly Event Reports
March 2024 | Conservatives narrowly win snap general elections
On 10 March, Portugal held an early general election, after Prime Minister Antonio Costa (Socialist Party) resigned in November over corruption allegations. The 230 seats in Portugal’s unicameral Parliament were contested across 22 constituencies (comprised of 18 metropolitan constituencies, the two autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores, and two constituencies for Portuguese citizens living abroad). The conservative Democratic Alliance coalition narrowly won 28.84 per cent of votes (78 seats), while the Socialist Party retained 28 per cent (78 seats). The far-right Chega party came in third with 18.07 per cent of the vote, securing 50 seats. A total of nine parties will be represented in Parliament. Voter turnout was 59.84 per cent. A total of 76 of the 230 seats in the new Parliament were won by women (33 per cent).
November 2023 | Prime Minister resigns amid corruption probe
On 7 November, Prime Minister António Costa resigned after he was implicated in a corruption probe, known as “Operation Influencer,” involving domestic lithium mining and green hydrogen production contracts. The Public Prosecution Service ordered raids of the Prime Minister’s official residence and the Environment and Infrastructure ministries. Days later, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa called snap elections to be held on 10 March 2024, and Costa will serve as caretaking Prime Minister until then. Costa has been Prime Minister since 2015, and his Socialist Party secured an absolute majority in snap elections in January 2022. Several other officials were indicted as part of the probe on charges of corruption and malfeasance, which the presiding judge has since narrowed down to influence peddling. These officials include Infrastructure Minister João Galamba, the head of the Portuguese environmental protection agency APA, and Costa’s chief of staff.
July 2023 | Parliament moves to protect victims of crimes against sexual freedom
Parliament passed amendments to the penal code and other access to justice legislation designed to improve protections for victims of “crimes against sexual freedom,” including rape and sexual coercion. The amendments, introduced by the ruling Socialist Party (PS) and developed under the parliamentary committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, extend the right of complaint for victims of rape or sexual coercion to one year (previously six months), and strengthens the basis for the Public Prosecutor’s Office to initiate procedures for such crimes. Victims of crimes against sexual freedom are also exempted from providing proof of economic insufficiency to access legal aid, updating an existing provision in the law on Access to Law and Courts applicable to victims of domestic violence. The decree was submitted to President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa for promulgation on 26 July.
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