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Portugal Political Events Since 1987
The parliamentary election of July 1987 was a milestone
in
the consolidation of Portuguese democracy in that it gave
for the
first time in the Second Republic a single party, the PSD,
an
absolute majority in the Assembly of the Republic and
permitted
the formation of a strong single-party government. The
party's
leader, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, ran an efficient campaign
that
stressed the PSD's competence and pragmatism and avoided
the
ideological arguments common to Portuguese politics. The
party
won a comfortable majority of 148 seats in the assembly
when 50.2
percent of the voters, a stunning increase over the 29.9
percent
who voted for it in the 1985 elections, decided Portugal
needed
to continue the PSD's program of reducing the government's
role
in the economy. Most of the PSD's increased share of the
votes
came from the virtual collapse of the PRD and the severe
losses
of the CDS. The PS improved significantly its performance
compared to 1985, while the PCP continued its decline
toward
political marginality.
An improving economy contributed to the PSD victory,
but also
essential to its success was the party's leader since
1985,
Aníbal Cavaco Silva. He captured the imagination of many
Portuguese, who saw him as a welcome alternative to
traditional
Portuguese politicians. Cavaco Silva differed from
Portugal's
narrow governing elite in many respects. He was not from
Lisbon
but came from a lower-middle class southern family. He was
not a
lawyer but an economist who had earned his doctorate from
the
University of York in Britain and subsequently taught
economics
in Lisbon. Although for a time minister of finance in the
early
1980s, he did not favor political games and intrigues but
publically disdained these aspects of party politics.
Observers
frequently characterized Cavaco Silva as somewhat aloof
and
arrogant, more interested in competence than connections.
Through
hard work and intelligence, he was able to thwart even
powerful
members of his own party who resisted reform and
modernization.
These qualities won Cavaco Silva the votes of many younger
people
and members of the middle class.
Supported by a majority in parliament, Cavaco Silva's
government, in which he served as prime minister, aimed at
a
liberalization of the Portuguese economy. A principal goal
was to
further revise the constitution by removing much of its
ideological language. The two-thirds majority this
undertaking
required was achieved with help from the PS. Another goal
was a
reform of the constitution's provisions relating to the
dismissal
of employees which were so strict that firings were very
difficult. Some relaxation of labor law was achieved but
not
nearly that which had been envisaged. A general strike in
early
1988 and a judgment from the Constitutional Court that the
government's proposals were unconstitutional prevented
radical
reform in this area
(see
Wages and the Distribution of Income, ch. 3).
The Cavaco Silva government had much more success
in
privatizing land and businesses nationalized in 1975
(see
Land Tenure and Agrarian Reform;
Industrial Organization
, ch.
3). By the end of 1991, many of the largest companies
seized by
the state had been returned in whole or in part to the
private
sector, and further privatizations were scheduled.
A presidential election was held in January 1991 as
Mário
Soares completed the five-year term. Faced with only token
opposition, Soares won easily, taking 70 percent of the
vote.
Such was the expectation of his victory that the PSD did
not even
field a candidate. Despite his reputation of being a
highly
partisan leader of the PS and the narrowness of his
victory in
1986, Soares had quickly become a very popular president.
In
general, he and Cavaco Silva got along well with one
another as
they carried out the duties of their respective offices.
Soares
interfered only rarely in the working of the cabinet and
legislature and when confronted with difficult political
issues,
called upon the Constitutional Court for a decision. He
instituted a practice of informal town meetings throughout
Portugal where he learned of the concerns of the average
citizen.
An articulate speaker, he was later able to voice these
concerns
himself and plead publicly for the betterment of social
conditions. Soares also represented his country ably
abroad.
Parliamentary elections were held in October 1991 when
the
Cavaco Silva government completed the four-year
legislative term,
the first government to do so in the Second Republic.
Although
the PSD was expected to win a majority, few expected it to
better
its results of 1987, but it did so by a tiny margin and
once
again achieved an absolute parliamentary majority. An
economy
that had performed better than the EC average, thanks in
part to
the billions of dollars the organization had transferred
to
Portugal since 1986, helped achieve Cavaco Silva's second
triumph, but his own popularity also played a role. He
conducted
a highly effective campaign that was centered on his
capabilities
as prime minister. Assurances from Cavaco Silva that he
would not
serve in a PSD government that did not have a clear
majority
probably caused many voters to favor his party. As in
1987, the
PSD did well in all parts of the country. It failed to
come in
first in only one district, compared to three in 1987, an
indication that the old regional cleavages were
disappearing as
the country modernized and became more prosperous.
The PSD's main opponent in the 1991 election was the
PS,
which polled 29.3 percent of the vote, a significant
improvement
over the results of 1987 and 1985. The PS's success,
despite a
poorly run campaign and long-standing leadership problems
since
Soares had relinquished his role, indicated that Portugal
was
perhaps moving toward an essentially two-party system.
Although
the PS trailed the PSD badly in this election, it had won
the
local elections of 1989. The PS and the PSD seemed to be
the only
parties in Portugal able to increase their votes. They had
also
come to resemble one another so closely that their
differences on
main issues had become marginal.
The PRD, which had scored such a success in the 1985
elections, failed to win a single seat. The PCP received
only 8.8
percent of the votes cast, a result that showed the party
to be
in a steady and steep decline. It remained tied to old
orthodoxies, approving the reactionary coup in Moscow in
August
1991, for example. The CDS won 4.4 percent of the votes
for five
seats in parliament, and it did not seem likely to be
politically
significant in the future, except perhaps as a coalition
partner
with one of the two largest parties.
Data as of January 1993
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