On September 11, 2001, the Twin Towers fell in New York, marking a turning point in world history. Rodrigo Borges de Freitas's article, written 25 years later, reflects on the transformations Portugal has experienced since then, spanning multiple governments, financial crises, austerity programs, the covid-19 pandemic, and international wars. The author questions what Portugal has done during this period and presents data that, according to him, tells a story that politics frequently avoids addressing.
In economic terms, the article highlights that the minimum wage nearly tripled, rising from 334.20 euros to 920 euros, while the average salary increased from 800 to 1,694 euros. However, the minimum wage now represents more than 54% of the average salary, when in 2001 it represented only 42%. The author warns that the middle class is increasingly closer to the minimum wage in terms of income, losing liquidity, the ability to save, and invest. A concrete example is the case of a senior technician in the Public Administration, who in 2001 started with the equivalent of 3.6 minimum wages, but in 2026 begins their career with only 1.63 minimum wages.
The article acknowledges that Portugal achieved significant advances, such as the drastic reduction of early school dropout from 44.3% to approximately 6%, the increase in the number of doctors, and the expansion of renewable energies. However, the author emphasizes that Portuguese productivity remains among the lowest in the European Union, with each worker generating approximately 48,000 euros in annual wealth against a European average of 74,000 euros. Portugal has also fallen to 40th place in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking, and public debt, which was 57% of GDP in 2001, currently hovers around 90%.
The author concludes that the greatest failure of Portuguese politics was not the lack of diagnoses, but the lack of courage to implement the necessary reforms in areas such as health, justice, housing, and productivity. He emphasizes that the country gained population but lost young people, going from 1.68 million to 1.43 million young people. He argues that Portugal needs to create wealth, value qualified labor, and ensure social mobility, so that young people feel that studying and building their lives in Portugal is worthwhile, instead of being forced to emigrate.
