DirectDemocracyS

Real Democracy. Real Power. Real Results.

POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, PROGRAM

FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL

FOR PORTUGAL

Critical Analysis of the Current Situation and Concrete Solutions

A radically different alternative, based on logic, common sense,

A rigorous study of reality, truth, and mutual respect.

Version 1.0 — 2025

directdemocracies.org

INTRODUCTION: A NEW POLICY FOR PORTUGAL

Portugal is a country of contrasts. A territory of extraordinary historical, cultural, and human richness, which gave rise to one of the greatest expanding civilizations of the modern world. And, at the same time, a country that has lived for decades trapped in a political, economic, and social model that perpetuates inequalities, wastes talent, exports its best citizens, and subjects the majority of its population to living conditions unworthy of the nation's true potential.

DirectDemocracyS (DDS) presents this program not as just another electoral promise destined to be forgotten, but as a concrete action plan, grounded in rigorous analysis of reality, based on logic, common sense, and respect for the intelligence of Portuguese citizens.

This document analyzes Portugal's real problems with brutal honesty—without euphemisms, without political games, without mincing words—and proposes detailed, functional, and realistically implementable solutions. Each proposal is accompanied by concrete examples, implementation mechanisms, and foreseeable consequences. We don't sell illusions. We sell work, method, and verifiable results.

What sets us apart from traditional parties? • We don't promise what we can't deliver. Each proposal has defined costs, deadlines, and success indicators. • We do not rely on funding from private interest groups. DDS is funded exclusively by its members. • Leadership is collective and rotating. No single person accumulates permanent power. • Citizens participate directly in decisions through direct digital democracy. • We are held accountable for the results. Any member who fails to comply will be replaced by the remaining members.

PART I — CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT SITUATION IN PORTUGAL

1.1 — Political System: Facade Democracy

Portugal formally has a parliamentary representative democracy. In practice, the system has evolved into a party oligarchy where two or three major parties alternate in power, reproducing the same policies with cosmetic variations, serving the same interests and ensuring the perpetuation of a professional political class completely detached from the daily reality of citizens.

The structural problems of the Portuguese political system:

• Elections with declining participation: in the 2022 legislative elections, abstention reached 41.4%, the highest value in democratic history, an unequivocal sign of a failure of representation.
• A closed-list system that prevents citizens from choosing their individual representatives—they vote for parties, not people.
• Opaque party financing with a strong dependence on private economic and financial groups that, in return, receive favorable policies.
• A revolving door between politics, regulation, and the private sector: former ministers become administrators of the companies they regulated; regulators move on to the companies they used to oversee.
• Lack of real mechanisms for recalling elected officials: an elected politician cannot be removed from office by citizens during their term, regardless of what they do.
• Concentration of executive power with weak real separation between the powers of the State.
• Capture of the public sector by partisan interests: appointments in public companies, institutes, and state agencies are made based on political criteria, not competence.

REAL FACT: ABSTENTION IN PORTUGAL 2022 Legislative Elections: 41.4% abstention rate — the highest in Portuguese democratic history. European elections 2024: 64.6% abstention rate — 2 out of every 3 Portuguese people did not vote. Local elections 2021: 46.3% abstention rate. Conclusion: Most citizens have abandoned the electoral system because they rightly realize that voting doesn't change anything substantial.

1.2 — Economic System: Growth without Distribution

The Portuguese economy has grown in recent years, especially driven by tourism, exports, and European funds. However, this growth has disproportionately benefited a minority, while the majority of workers have seen their real purchasing power stagnate or decline. The country has become an attractive destination for foreign investors and tourists, while simultaneously driving out its own citizens.

Critical indicators of economic reality:

Indicator	Current Value (2024)	EU average	Assessment
Average net salary	~1,100 €/month	~€2,100/month	CRITICAL
Minimum wage	870 €/month	~1,250 €/month	VERY LOW
Risk of poverty	17.0%	16.5%	BELOW AVERAGE
Young people at risk of poverty (18-24)	22.5%	19.8%	CONCERNING
Housing cost (% of income)	42% in cities	25% recommended	SERIOUS CRISIS
Emigrants 2023	+80,000/year	—	BLEEDING
Public debt	99% of GDP	83% of GDP	HIGH
Inequality (Gini)	33.9	30.3	ABOVE AVERAGE

The structural problems of the Portuguese economy:

• Systemic low productivity due to lack of investment in R&D, digitalization, and continuous training.
• Extreme labor dualism: workers with highly protected permanent contracts vs. a huge precariat of young, immigrant workers with no real rights.
• Excessive dependence on tourism — a low value-added, seasonal sector with chronically low wages and highly vulnerable to external shocks (pandemic, geopolitics).
• Massive brain drain: doctors, engineers, scientists, and skilled professionals emigrate to countries that pay them according to their true value.
• A regressive tax structure that penalizes labor and protects income from capital and property.
• Undercapitalized SMEs lack easy access to financing for innovation.
• A concentrated banking sector with high margins and resistance to effective competition.

1.3 — Housing: The Crisis Created by the State

The Portuguese housing crisis is not a natural disaster. It is the direct result of decades of flawed public policies: a lack of public housing, the facilitation of predatory tourism (unlimited local accommodation), tax incentives for speculative foreign real estate investment, and systematic disinvestment in social housing. The State created the problem and then pretended not to know how to solve it.

• Lisbon: average rent for a one-bedroom apartment exceeds €1,300/month — 120% of a full minimum wage to rent even the smallest apartment.
• Porto: similar situation, with average rents for two-bedroom apartments above €1,600/month.
• Algarve: housing market completely captured by tourism, making it impossible for local workers to live where they work.
• Over 700,000 vacant homes in Portugal, while families are left homeless — a result of speculation and the refusal to use existing housing stock.
• Young people aged 25 to 35 who are unable to access their own housing without family support.

1.4 — Health: The NHS in Planned Collapse

The Portuguese National Health Service is a historic achievement of which the Portuguese are rightly proud. But this pride cannot be a veil for reality: the NHS is collapsing due to decades of underfunding, mismanagement, lack of incentives to retain professionals, and progressive capture by the private sector.

• Waiting lists for specialist appointments exceed 12-18 months in many areas.
• Family doctors: 1.5 million users without an assigned family doctor (data from 2024).
• Massive emigration of doctors and nurses to the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany and Luxembourg where they earn 3-5 times more.
• Hospitals with chronically overwhelmed emergency departments, with waiting times of 8-12 hours for non-urgent situations.
• The growth of private health insurance is not a complement to, but a replacement for, the National Health Service (SNS) for those who can afford it — creating a two-speed system of medicine.

1.5 — Education: A System that Reproduces Inequalities

The Portuguese education system has improved in basic literacy indicators, but it continues to reproduce social inequalities instead of correcting them. The quality of education varies dramatically between urban and rural public schools, and between families with and without the cultural and economic capital to supplement formal education. Higher education is formally universally accessible, but access to it is stratified in reality.

• Severe teacher shortage: unfilled positions in mathematics, physics/chemistry, and foreign languages.
• A rigid, outdated curriculum that is inadequate for the needs of the 21st-century job market.
• Early school leaving rates are still above the European average in certain regions.
• Higher education: high dropout rate in the first years, often for economic reasons.
• Systemic devaluation of vocational training and technical education, pushing young people towards degrees with no clear career path.

1.6 — Justice: Slow, Expensive, and Unequal

The Portuguese justice system is formally independent but structurally dysfunctional. Cases drag on for years or decades. The impunity of the powerful is structural—not because judges are corrupt, but because the system was designed in such a way that it never functions with the necessary agility to effectively hold accountable those who have the resources to drag out cases indefinitely.

• Average duration of civil proceedings: 3-7 years in the first instance.
• Average duration of complex criminal proceedings (corruption, economic crimes): 8-15 years.
• Prescription as a weapon of the powerful: lawsuits expire before they reach a conclusion.
• The cost of justice is incompatible with the average income of the Portuguese people.
• Overburdened administrative courts are delaying decisions that affect businesses and citizens.

1.7 — Environment and Territory: Exploitation without Planning

Portugal faces serious environmental risks: recurring and devastating forest fires, progressive drought due to climate change, chaotic land-use planning, coastal erosion, and desertification of the interior. Response policies have been predominantly reactive and insufficient, lacking an integrated long-term territorial plan.

• Forest fires: Portugal has one of the highest percentages of territory burned per year in Western Europe.
• Eucalyptus monoculture covers 26% of the forest area — highly flammable, economically dominated by a few private groups.
• Desertification of the interior: municipalities with population densities below 10 inhabitants/km², with no visible economic future.
• Overexploited and vulnerable coastline — accelerated coastal erosion without adequate management response.

PART II — FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF DDS FOR PORTUGAL

2.1 — Direct Digital Democracy as the Basis of the System

DDS does not believe in delegated and forgotten representation. Citizens should not vote every four years and then be ignored. We propose a system in which every citizen can participate directly in decisions that affect them, through a secure, verified, and auditable digital platform.

• Mandatory referendums for all legislative decisions that directly affect the daily lives of citizens.
• Popular legislative initiative made easier: 50,000 verified signatures (vs. the current 35,000, with greater ease of digital collection).
• Expanded participatory budgeting: 15% of the municipal budget and 5% of the state budget decided directly by citizens.
• A Citizens' Assembly, randomly selected for review and validation of key reforms — a model already successfully used in Ireland, France, and the United Kingdom.
• Mechanism for recalling mandates: any elected official can be removed from office with a 60% vote of no confidence from their constituents, at any time during their term.

2.2 — Non-Transferable Collective Ownership as an Economic Driver

DDS proposes a new ownership model for strategic companies and common resources: Non-Transferable Collective Ownership (NCCO). This is a legal framework in which workers, users, and citizens are co-owners of essential entities, without the possibility of selling or privatizing their shares.

• Strategic companies (water, energy, transport, basic telecommunications) should have mandatory worker participation in capital and management.
• Natural resources (water, public forests, coastline, subsoil) are the inalienable property of the Portuguese people—they cannot be privatized.
• Workers' cooperatives receive tax incentives and preferential access to public funding.
• Industrial parks and regional economic development zones managed by public-private-worker consortia with a balance of power.

2.3 — Strict Meritocracy in Public Management

The Portuguese state suffers from systematic political appointments to management positions that should be filled by technical experts. DDS proposes a complete reform of the civil service based on verifiable competence, continuous evaluation, and genuine accountability for results.

• Public competitive examinations are mandatory for all management positions in public companies, institutes, and state agencies — without partisan exceptions.
• Public performance contracts for all public managers: clear objectives, defined deadlines, real consequences for non-compliance.
• Mandatory online publication of all public contracts, in real time, with a complaint system accessible to any citizen.
• End of partisan "spheres of influence" in regulatory bodies: total incompatibility between political functions and appointments to regulatory entities for 10 years.

PART III — REFORM OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM

3.1 — New Electoral Law

The current Portuguese electoral system is proportional representation by electoral district, with closed lists. This means that citizens vote for parties and not for individuals, and that party leaders control who enters parliament. This model favors party discipline over voter representation. DDS proposes a profound electoral reform.

Concrete proposals for the electoral law:

1. Mandatory open lists: voters vote for individual candidates within party lists, and can rearrange their preferences. The candidate with the most votes within each list is elected first, regardless of the position assigned to them by the party.
2. National compensation constituency: 50 of the 230 deputies elected by national compensation constituency to ensure proportionality.
3. 3% representation threshold: parties with less than 3% of the national vote are not entitled to a parliamentary seat (vs. the current 0% with the possibility of representation by constituency).
4. Term limits: no deputy, senator, speaker of the chamber, or president of the republic may serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office.
5. Mandatory parity: 50% of candidates of each gender in real (not symbolic) eligible positions.
6. Election financing with a drastic maximum limit: legislative election campaigns with a limit of €500,000 per party, audited in real time by an independent entity.

A CONCRETE EXAMPLE: THE IRISH MODEL OF TRANSFERABLE VOTING Ireland uses the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, where each voter ranks candidates by preference (1st, 2nd, 3rd...). If the first preferred candidate already has enough votes to be elected, the excess vote is transferred to the second preferred candidate. This system ensures that those elected genuinely reflect voters' preferences and eliminates wasted votes. Result: more diverse representation, less blind party discipline, greater individual accountability of elected officials to their direct voters. DDS proposes adapting this model to the Portuguese reality, maintaining proportionality but eliminating closed lists.

3.2 — Reform of the Civil Service and Administration

The Portuguese civil service employs around 750,000 people. It is simultaneously underpaid in many sectors (health, education) and overstaffed in low-value administrative functions. The proposed reform is not about generic "downsizing" but about reorganization based on criteria of efficiency and dignity.

Concrete measures:

• Comprehensive audit of the public administration structure within 18 months: identifying redundancies, overlapping competencies, and critical gaps.
• Public sector salaries are linked to updated market rates: teachers, doctors, nurses, police officers, and firefighters receive salaries that are competitive with equivalent private sector pay.
• Radical simplification of bureaucracy: elimination of 40% of existing administrative forms and procedures within 3 years, with complete digitization of the remainder.
• "Digital One-Stop Shop for Citizens": any public service available online in less than 30 minutes, without mandatory in-person visits, except in justified cases.
• Real and consequential performance evaluation for all public employees — with effective mobility between roles and genuine merit-based progression.

3.3 — Combating Corruption: Structural Prevention System

Portugal has a corruption problem that stems not from a lack of laws—there has been considerable legislation on corruption—but from a structural inability to investigate, prosecute, and punish in a timely manner. DDS proposes a different approach: in addition to punishment, eliminating the conditions that allow corruption to thrive.

7. Special anti-corruption court: creation of a court dedicated exclusively to crimes of corruption, illicit enrichment, and white-collar economic crimes, with specialized judges and maximum trial times of 3 years.
8. Extinction of the statute of limitations for corruption crimes committed by public office holders while in office.
9. Declarations of income and interests of all elected officials and public managers published online in an open and comparable format year after year.
10. Effective whistleblower protection: anonymity guaranteed by an independent entity, compensation for retaliation up to 5 years' salary.
11. Complete incompatibility: no former government official can work in sectors they regulated for 5 years after the end of their term.
12. Public audit of all public contracts above €50,000 by an entity independent of political parties.

PART IV — ECONOMIC PROGRAM

4.1 — Reformulation of the Growth Model

Portugal needs to transition from a low-cost, low-value economy to a high-knowledge, high-productivity economy with fair distribution. This cannot be achieved by decree, but through a coordinated set of policies including investment, labor reform, fiscal policy, and industrial strategy.

The 5 Strategic Sectors for the Future of Portugal:

1. Knowledge and Technology Economy

Portugal has a developing technological ecosystem (Web Summit, Lisbon startups, university campuses). But to compete in the long term, it needs to make the leap from a consumer of technology to a producer of cutting-edge technology.

• Doubling public investment in R&D to 2.5% of GDP in 10 years (vs. the current 1.7%).
• Tax incentives for technology companies that create skilled jobs in Portugal — with the following conditions: a minimum of 70% of their workforce must reside in Portugal.
• "Return and Stay" Program: a supplementary state salary of €500/month for 5 years for qualified Portuguese citizens returning from abroad to work in strategic sectors.
• Creation of 5 "Regional Innovation Parks" outside of Lisbon and Porto: Braga, Coimbra, Évora, Faro and Vila Real — with laboratories, accelerators and housing for technology workers.

2. High-Quality Agriculture and Food Sovereignty

Portugal imports more than 70% of the food it consumes, an absurd level of dependence for a country with extraordinary agro-climatic conditions. Food sovereignty is a matter of national security, not just agricultural policy.

• National Food Sovereignty Plan: aims to reduce food imports by 30% in 10 years through incentivized domestic production.
• Priority support for family farmers and agricultural cooperatives — countering the trend of land concentration by investment funds.
• Redirecting CAP agricultural subsidies to producers practicing regenerative, biodiverse, and high-nutritional-value agriculture.
• National certification "Genuine Portugal" with complete traceability and access to high-value niche international markets.
• Efficient irrigation: progressive replacement of flood irrigation systems with drip irrigation across all irrigated agriculture — a 40% reduction in agricultural water consumption.

3. Renewable Energies and Green Energy Exports

Portugal has extraordinary potential in solar, wind, hydro, and wave energy. Instead of just using this energy domestically, it could become a net exporter of green energy to Europe—creating thousands of skilled jobs and significant national revenue.

• "Portugal Green Energy 2035" Plan: 100% electricity from renewable sources by 2035 (currently already close to 70% in years of high rainfall).
• Investment in storage capacity (industrial-scale batteries, reversible hydroelectricity) to eliminate dependence on gas as a backup.
• Exporting green hydrogen to European markets — Portugal has already signed agreements with Germany and the Netherlands for this purpose; accelerating and guaranteeing national employment in the production chains.
• Prohibition of new licenses for the exploration of fossil fuels in Portuguese national and maritime territory.
• Program to decarbonize the public transport fleet and state-owned company fleets by 2030.

4. Quality Tourism Instead of Mass Tourism

The current tourism model in Portugal is destroying what makes it unique: its historic cities, its local culture, its landscape. Lisbon and Porto have increasingly become theme parks for tourists, while residents are being driven out. A radical paradigm shift is needed.

• A progressive tourist tax based on type of accommodation and length of stay, with all revenue allocated to social housing and local public transport.
• Geographic limit for local accommodation (Airbnb and similar): a maximum of 15% of dwellings in any parish can have a local accommodation license — those exceeding this limit lose their license after 3 years.
• Active promotion of high-value niche tourism: gastronomic tourism, wine tourism, nature tourism, in-depth cultural tourism — with higher spending per tourist and lower per capita impact.
• Territorial redistribution of tourism: tax incentives for tourism ventures in the interior of the country, disincentives for overconcentration on the coast.
• Mandatory qualification of tourism workers: an end to undeclared employment contracts and wages below the minimum wage in the sector.

5. Ocean Economy: Portugal as a Maritime Power

Portugal has the largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in Europe, covering more than 1.7 million km². This extraordinary resource is underutilized. A serious strategy for the ocean economy could generate tens of thousands of quality jobs and position Portugal as a world leader in emerging sectors.

• Investing in quality aquaculture: Portugal imports more than 70% of the fish it consumes — absurd for a country with this maritime potential.
• Shipbuilding industry: rebuilding a competitive shipbuilding and repair industry, taking advantage of the strategic location of Lisbon and Setúbal.
• Wave energy: Portugal has the coastline with the greatest wave energy potential in Europe — accelerate applied research programs and early commercial projects.
• Marine biotechnology: research and development center for marine-based pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food products.
• Environmental monitoring and protection of the EEZ: satellite and drone surveillance system to combat illegal fishing and destruction of marine habitats.

4.2 — Tax Reform: Taxing What Should Be Taxed

The Portuguese tax system excessively penalizes labor—which is heavily taxed through personal income tax and social security contributions—while protecting capital income, large inheritances, and speculative real estate wealth. This distortion is both unfair and economically irrational.

Concrete tax reforms:

Measurement	Current Situation	DDS Proposal	Expected Impact
IRS — Average tax brackets	37% from €25,076	37% starting from €40,000	Middle class relief
IRS — Low Incomes	14.5% starting from €7,703	Full exemption up to €12,000	1.5 million beneficiaries
Tax on speculative real estate capital gains	28% (flat)	45% for properties sold in <5 years	Reduces speculation.
IRC for SMEs	17% on the first €25,000	10% on the first €50k	Supports job creation
Taxation of large fortunes (>€5M)	Non-existent	1.5% annually on net value	Fair redistribution
TSU (employer contribution)	23.75%	18% with compensation through budgetary means.	Reduces the cost of legal labor.
VAT on essential food items	6%	0% for defined basic food basket	Purchasing power of workers
Taxation of speculative financial transactions	Non-existent	0.1% on transactions >€100,000	New recipe

These reforms are designed to be neutral in terms of overall tax revenue: what is lost in personal income tax and corporate income tax is offset by new taxes on income from speculative capital and large fortunes. The goal is not to reduce state revenue but to redistribute the tax burden fairly.

4.3 — Labor Policy: Dignity, Security, and Real Flexibility

The Portuguese labor market is divided in two: a core of workers with permanent contracts and strong labor protections, and a vast periphery of precarious workers, "false self-employed" workers, platform workers, and informal workers without real protection. This duality is both unfair and economically inefficient.

13. Minimum wage at €1,200 by 2027, indexed annually to real inflation plus 1% — an end to annual negotiations that always fall short of the loss of purchasing power.
14. Regulation of digital platforms (Uber, Glovo, Deliveroo): platform workers are workers, not "independent partners" — right to a contract, vacation and sick pay, employer contribution to social security.
15. "Green receipts": reform of the system — anyone who earns more than 70% of their income from a single client is automatically reclassified as an employee, with all the corresponding rights.
16. 4-day work week (32 hours) with salary maintenance: mandatory pilot program for companies with more than 50 employees in applicable sectors, with evaluation at the end of 2 years.
17. Remote work as a right: any worker in compatible roles is entitled to at least 2 days a week of remote work, without the need for an individual agreement with the employer.
18. Employee-controlled time bank: an end to time banks unilaterally imposed by the employer.
19. Mandatory continuing training: a minimum of 40 hours/year of training per worker, paid for by the employer, with a catalog certified by the State.

PART V — HOUSING: SOLVING THE CRISIS DEFINITIVELY

5.1 — Diagnosis and Real Causes of the Crisis

The housing crisis has identified causes and known solutions. The problem is political will: the groups that benefit from the status quo—owners of multiple properties, real estate investment funds, short-term rental operators, property developers—have disproportionate political influence over traditional parties.

The 5 Main Causes of the Housing Crisis in Portugal 1. LACK OF PUBLIC HOUSING: Portugal has less than 3% of its housing stock in public ownership — Austria has 60%, the Netherlands 30%, and France 17%. Decades of disinvestment have left the State without the instruments to balance the market. 2. LOCAL ACCOMMODATION WITHOUT REAL LIMITS: The proliferation of local accommodation (Airbnb and similar) has removed hundreds of thousands of homes from the residential rental market, reducing the available supply and putting pressure on prices. 3. GOLDEN VISA AND TAX INCENTIVES FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT: Portugal sold residences to foreigners with tax benefits (NHR, Golden Visa), attracting speculative investment that unfairly competed with Portuguese residents. 4. 700,000 VACANT HOMES: There are more empty homes in Portugal than families without adequate housing. The problem is not one of total quantity but of distribution and access. 5. REAL ESTATE SPECULATION WITHOUT PENALTY: Keeping a vacant property in an area with housing shortages has no significant tax cost — which encourages speculative holding.

5.2 — National Housing Program DDS

Measure 1: Massive Construction of Quality Public Housing

The Portuguese state should build and directly manage quality public housing — not stigmatized "social housing estates," but housing integrated into mixed-use neighborhoods, with dignified architecture, suitable locations, and rents calculated as a percentage of tenants' income.

• Goal: 200,000 new public housing units in 10 years, financed by a National Housing Fund capitalized by taxes on speculative housing and loans from the European Investment Bank.
• Rent for public housing: maximum of 30% of the household's net income.
• Location: primarily in urban areas with higher housing pressure — Lisbon, Porto, Setúbal, Algarve.
• Mixed model: each public housing block will have at least 30% of the units at market rent (to generate revenue and avoid ghettoization) and 70% at affordable rent.

Measure 2: Tax on Vacant Housing and Speculation

• Progressive tax on vacant dwellings that have been vacant for more than 12 months in areas of high housing pressure: 2% of the property value per year in the 1st year, 4% in the 2nd, 8% in the 3rd and subsequent years.
• Exemptions: dwellings of emigrants or citizens hospitalized for medical reasons.
• Tax on speculative capital gains from real estate sales increased to 45% for properties sold less than 5 years after acquisition.

Measure 3: Effective Regulation of Local Accommodation

• A limit of 10% of the housing stock in each parish with a local accommodation license — in the most pressured areas, reduced to 5%.
• Local accommodation licenses in saturated areas: total moratorium on new licenses for 5 years.
• A municipal tax on local accommodation of 15% of revenue, with all proceeds going towards affordable housing.
• Effective oversight through cross-referencing data with digital platforms — mandatory automatic reporting by the platforms to the Tax Authority.

Measure 4: Leasing with Real Guarantees

• Simplified Tenancy Law: eviction process for non-payment reduced from 18 months to a maximum of 3 months, with guaranteed housing support for tenants in vulnerable situations.
• Income ceilings in housing pressure zones: rents cannot increase by more than 2% per year in designated zones.
• "Forced Leasing": vacant properties owned by proprietors with more than 5 properties in high-pressure areas may be requisitioned by the municipality for lease for a period of 5 years, with market rent paid to the proprietor.

A CONCRETE EXAMPLE: VIENNA AND THE MODEL OF QUALITY SOCIAL HOUSING Vienna has 60% of its housing stock owned publicly or by non-profit organizations. Average rents are between 40% and 60% of what the market value would be. As a result, Vienna is consistently considered the city with the best quality of life in the world, with a stable middle class, low inequality, and high social cohesion. Portugal could implement an adapted model: not trying to buy existing properties (which is too expensive) but building new, high-quality public housing in strategic locations, using underutilized public land (there are thousands of hectares of public land in urban areas). Predicted consequence in 10 years: reduction of rents in the private market by 20-30% due to increased public supply, return of young professionals to large cities, reduction of emigration for housing reasons.

PART VI — HEALTH: REBUILDING THE NHS AS A REAL RIGHT

6.1 — Strategic Vision for Health

The National Health Service (SNS) is not a cost to the State. It is an investment — in productivity, in social cohesion, in quality of life and in public health. A country where workers do not have access to quality healthcare is a country with lower productivity, more absenteeism, more inequality and more long-term expenses (untreated chronic diseases cost more than prevention).

6.2 — Concrete Measures for the National Health Service

Human Resources: Retaining Professionals in Portugal

20. Immediate salary increase for doctors and nurses in the National Health Service (SNS): specialist doctors with 5 years of experience should earn at least €5,500 gross — comparable to the salary they would earn in the United Kingdom or Germany. Estimated annual cost: €1.2 billion, financed by increased taxation on local accommodation and speculative housing.
21. Geographical retention bonus: professionals who accept placement in inland regions or areas with staffing shortages receive a bonus of €800/month and free or subsidized housing.
22. Compensation for doctors trained in Portugal who emigrated: partial compensation for the cost of training (average €100,000 per doctor) if they return within 10 years and remain in the National Health Service (SNS) for a minimum of 5 years.
23. Creation of 2,000 new annual places in medical training and 3,000 in nursing training — with equivalent investment in facilities and teachers.

Infrastructure: Modernizing without Privatizing

24. Plan to modernize hospital equipment: CT scans, MRIs, and other advanced diagnostic equipment with insufficient capacity — an investment of 800 million euros over 5 years.
25. "Digital Hospital": a single, interoperable clinical information system across the entire National Health Service (NHS) that eliminates the need to repeat previously performed tests and physical paper-based processes.
26. Expanded Family Health Units: all Portuguese citizens should have a family doctor — recruitment plan and opening of new Family Health Units for universal coverage within 3 years.
27. Mental health: creation of 200 new community mental health teams spread throughout the country — mental health is still treated as a luxury when it is a basic need.

Prevention: Shifting the Focus from Disease to Health

• Mandatory and free screenings for the main causes of mortality (colorectal, breast, prostate, cardiovascular cancer) for all recommended age groups — with active promotion by the National Health Service.
• "Healthy School" program: nutrition, physical activity, and mental health integrated into the mandatory curriculum.
• Taxation of products harmful to health (sugary drinks, ultra-processed foods) with revenue fully reinvested in health prevention and the National Health Service.
• Prohibition of advertising for ultra-processed foods aimed at children under 16 years of age.

PART VII — EDUCATION: FOR A COUNTRY THAT LEARNS AND INNOVATES

7.1 — Education System Reform

Education is the only investment that guarantees a return across generations. A country that does not invest in the education of its citizens is mortgaging its future. Portugal has improved significantly in basic literacy indicators in recent decades, but continues to fail in the transition from education to the labor market and in equalizing opportunities regardless of social origin.

Basic and Secondary Education:

28. A revamped curriculum with an emphasis on critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and teamwork—21st-century skills that the current model systematically ignores.
29. Programming and digital literacy instruction should be mandatory from the 5th grade onwards — not as a standalone subject but integrated into the rest of the curriculum.
30. Reducing class sizes to a maximum of 22 students in primary education, to allow for genuine personalized learning.
31. Dignified vocational training: parity in prestige and funding between academic and professional pathways, with mandatory internships in companies for all vocational courses.
32. Teaching Portuguese as a second language to children of immigrants — real integration, not marginalization.

Teachers: The Central Profession

• Increasing the starting salary for teachers to €1,800 net — making teaching an attractive profession for the best.
• Career freeze: end of increases based solely on seniority, replaced by progression based on actual performance evaluated by peers and student results.
• Mandatory and paid continuing education: 60 hours of professional development per year for all teachers.
• Real pedagogical autonomy: teachers have the freedom to adapt teaching methods to the group, within the national curriculum — an end to textbook-based teaching.

Higher education:

33. Tuition fees are tiered based on family income: those who cannot afford it, do not pay. Those with high incomes pay the full amount. Objective: to eliminate university dropout due to economic reasons.
34. Public university residences: construction of 20,000 new beds in state-run residences for displaced students — the current deficit is over 50,000 beds.
35. Promoting applied research: incentives for universities that develop partnerships with industry and create marketable spin-offs.
36. Recognition of non-formal skills: a system for validating and certifying knowledge acquired through professional experience, facilitating the return of adults to higher education.

PART VIII — JUSTICE: FAST, ACCESSIBLE, AND EQUAL FOR ALL

8.1 — Structural Reform of the Judicial System

Slow justice is not justice — it's impunity delayed. The inefficiency of the Portuguese judicial system has enormous costs: for citizens who wait years for decisions, for companies that don't invest because they don't trust the effective resolution of disputes, and for democracy when the powerful use delays as a weapon of impunity.

37. Specialized anti-corruption court with 50 judges dedicated exclusively to corruption, economic, and white-collar crimes. Maximum trial time: 3 years from the indictment order.
38. Digital civil procedure: elimination of physical paper files, real-time online access for parties to case files, and video conference hearings when the parties consent.
39. Increase in the number of judges and magistrates: Portugal has one of the lowest ratios of judges per capita in the EU — a 30% increase in 5 years through accelerated recruitment processes.
40. Alternative dispute resolution methods (mediation, arbitration) for disputes valued at less than €75,000 — a prior attempt at certified mediation is mandatory.
41. Free legal assistance: the current legal aid system is so bureaucratic that many who are entitled to it cannot access it. Complete reform with a simple digital platform.
42. End of procedural privileges: defendants holding public office no longer have a longer statute of limitations—they have a shorter one, because they have more resources to delay proceedings.

PART IX — ENVIRONMENT, TERRITORY AND CLIMATE TRANSITION

9.1 — Portugal and the Climate Crisis: Vulnerability and Opportunity

Portugal is among the European countries most vulnerable to climate change. Prolonged drought, forest fires, rising sea levels, coastal erosion, and heat waves are already realities with increasing economic and human impact. But Portugal also has a historic opportunity: its geographical position and natural resources place it in a privileged position to be a European leader in the green economy.

9.2 — Forest Management and Fire Prevention Program

The problem of forest fires in Portugal is fundamentally a land management problem. The proliferation of eucalyptus and maritime pine monocultures, coupled with rural abandonment and the absence of fuel management, creates conditions for cyclically repeated catastrophes. The solution exists and is known—what's lacking is its serious implementation.

• National Forest Conversion Plan in 15 years: reduce the area of eucalyptus from 26% to 15% of the forest area, through non-renewal of licenses in the highest risk zones and incentives for conversion to native species (oak, cork oak, strawberry tree, stone pine).
• Mandatory fuel management: forest owners are required to clear 50m strips around dwellings and roads — with enforcement and billing to the owner in case of non-compliance.
• Forest firefighting brigades: doubling the current number, with coverage of the entire continental territory.
• Early fire detection system using satellites and a network of cameras + drones: response time of less than 10 minutes from detection to the start of firefighting.
• Mandatory forest insurance: owners of more than 5 hectares of forest in risk zones are required to have insurance and pay premiums that reflect the real risk — eliminating the "moral hazard" of the State always paying.

9.3 — Land Use Planning

• Revised and binding National Spatial Planning Plan: end of ad hoc exceptions that allow construction in risk zones or areas of high ecological value.
• RAN (National Agricultural Reserve) and REN (National Ecological Reserve) untouchable: end of declassifications for private interests.
• Interior development policy: a package of incentives to attract businesses and workers to the interior — not handouts, but real infrastructure (fiber optics, roads, health, education) that makes the interior competitive.
• Protection of coastal zones: a 10-year moratorium on new constructions less than 500m from the coastline, with the progressive demolition of existing illegal constructions.

9.4 — Energy Transition

• 100% renewable energy for electricity production by 2035 — with a detailed plan for storage and interconnections.
• Energy rehabilitation of homes: a subsidy program for insulation, solar panels, and heat pumps for homes of families with below-median incomes — financed by the reduction in energy bills.
• Free public transport in cities: a model already in operation in Cascais, Viana do Castelo and others — to be extended to all district capitals.
• High-speed rail network: completion of the Lisbon-Porto and Lisbon-Madrid lines with genuine European integration, reducing dependence on air travel for medium distances.

PART X — SOCIAL PROGRAM: GUARANTEES FOR ALL PORTUGUESE CITIZENS

10.1 — Basic Citizen Income

The DDS proposes the progressive implementation of a universal Basic Income — not as a replacement for existing social benefits, but as a safety net that eliminates absolute poverty and simplifies the social protection system.

• Value: €600/month for all adult citizens residing in Portugal for more than 3 years, without employment restrictions (unlike the current RSI).
• Financing: redirecting 40% of current redundant social benefits + new taxation on capital income and speculative assets.
• Phased implementation: first for those over 65 and families below the poverty line (years 1-2), then universal extension (years 3-5).
• Expected impact: elimination of absolute poverty, massive bureaucratic simplification of the social protection system, reduction of administrative costs by 800 million euros annually.

REAL EXAMPLE: FINLAND AND KENYA Finland tested a basic income of €560/month with 2,000 unemployed people between 2017 and 2018. The result: significantly improved mental well-being, without a reduction in job seeking (contrary to the myth), and with more entrepreneurship among the beneficiaries. Kenya (GiveDirectly) is conducting the world's largest 12-year basic income study — preliminary results: increased consumption, more investment in children's education, more local economic activity. DDS proposes a pilot program in two Portuguese municipalities before national implementation, with rigorous and independent evaluation at the end of 2 years.

10.2 — Protection of Family and Childhood

• Free public daycare for children aged 0-3: eliminating waiting lists and the costs that currently prevent many families from having children.
• Shared parental leave of 12 months total: 6 non-transferable months for each parent — encouraging equal parental participation in childcare.
• Increased child benefit: €200/month per child up to the age of 18 for families with income below the median.
• "Universal Full-Time School": free extracurricular activities until 6 pm in all public schools.

10.3 — Dignified Aging

• A guaranteed minimum pension of €700/month — above the actual poverty line, updated annually for effective inflation.
• Public continuing care: a network of public or subsidized homes and home care facilities for dependent elderly people — ending the situation where families are forced to choose between working and caring for an elderly relative.
• "Aging at Home" Program: free home support for seniors over 80 years old, including cleaning, meals, and basic medical care.
• Combating isolation: organized volunteer program and day centers with free transportation in rural areas.

10.4 — Immigration: Real Integration, Not Exploitation

Portugal is today a country of significant immigration. More than 1 million immigrants reside in Portugal—an enormous economic and cultural contribution that the country cannot do without. But the current integration model is inadequate: immigrants are used as cheap labor without real access to their rights.

• Fast and efficient regularization: regularization process in a maximum of 6 months for immigrants who work and pay contributions in Portugal.
• Full access to the National Health Service and the education system regardless of regularization status.
• Combating human trafficking: aggressive monitoring of employment agencies that recruit immigrant workers under exploitative conditions.
• Portuguese language: free courses with schedules compatible with work for all immigrants — true integration requires communication.
• Dual citizenship is facilitated for people of Portuguese descent and for immigrants with 5 years of legal residency and regular contributions.

PART XI — FINANCIAL PROGRAM: HOW TO FINANCE ALL OF THIS

11.1 — Financial Viability of the Program

A legitimate criticism of any ambitious political program is: "How are they going to pay for all this?" It's a question that DDS doesn't avoid. On the contrary, it answers it in detail. Our program isn't a list of empty promises—it's an integrated plan where every expense has an identified source of funding.

Additional Expense Area	Estimated Annual Cost (€)	Source of Funding
Salary increase for SNS (doctors/nurses)	1.2 billion euros	Taxation of speculative housing
Public housing construction (amortization)	800 million euros	EIB fund + vacant housing tax
Basic Citizen Income (phased)	3.5 billion euros	Reduction of redundant payments + capital
Free public daycare centers (0-3 years)	600 million euros	Reduction of tax exemptions for companies
Education: salaries and infrastructure	700 million euros	Combating tax evasion (est. €6 billion/year)
Hospital modernization	800 million euros	European Cohesion Fund + OE
Energy transition	1,000 M€	Carbon recipes + EIB
Forest management and land use	400 million euros	PAC + OE
TOTAL ADDITIONAL EXPENSE	~9,000 million euros/year

Source of Additional Revenue	Annual Estimate (€)
Combating tax evasion (potential identified by the Tax Authority)	4,000 – 6,000 million euros
Taxation of large fortunes (>€5M)	1.5 billion euros
Tax on vacant housing and real estate speculation	800 million euros
Tourist tax increased	400 million euros
Taxation of speculative financial transactions	600 million euros
Reduction of fossil fuel subsidies and unjustified exemptions	1.2 billion euros
Tax on local accommodation	300 million euros
Administrative savings (bureaucratic simplification)	800 million euros
TOTAL ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL REVENUE	~9.600 – 11.600 M€

Conclusion: the program is financially viable within the rules of the European Stability and Growth Pact, with room for a gradual reduction in public debt. It does not require additional deficits—it requires a fair reorganization of tax revenue and an effective fight against tax evasion.

11.2 — Public Debt Management

• Renegotiation of loan terms from the bailout period (2011-2014) with European creditors where legally possible.
• Golden rule: any new public debt should exclusively finance productive investment (infrastructure, education, health, innovation) — never current expenditure.
• Portugal's Sovereign Wealth Fund: created with proceeds from selective privatizations of non-strategic assets and future budget surpluses — to constitute a long-term national reserve.
• Full budget transparency: monthly publication of the state of public accounts in accessible language, consistent with the stated objectives.

PART XII — FOREIGN POLICY AND LUSOPHONE WORLD

12.1 — Portugal in the World: Real Strategic Ambition

Portugal is a small country in terms of territory and population, but with an extraordinary global footprint: the Portuguese language is spoken by more than 280 million people across 4 continents. The CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries) is a strategic asset that Portugal has been using far below its potential.

• Investment in the CPLP as an economic space: agreements for the mutual recognition of diplomas, facilitated movement of skilled workers, joint investment projects in infrastructure.
• Digital Lusophony: a globally accessible online platform for teaching the Portuguese language, funded by Portugal and Brazil, as an instrument of soft power and cultural integration.
• Active economic diplomacy: embassies reoriented as centers for promoting Portuguese exports, tourism, and attracting qualified investment.
• Portuguese-speaking Africa: Portugal should have a genuine (non-paternalistic) partnership policy with Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, and São Tomé and Príncipe — including technology transfer, training, and non-extractive investment.

12.2 — Portugal in the European Union

Portugal is a net beneficiary of the EU, and its European integration has generally been positive. However, Portugal often adopts a too passive stance in European negotiations, accepting unfavorable compromises due to a lack of strategic assertiveness. The DDS proposes a more active and assertive European stance.

• Coalition of Southern European countries: strategic alliance with Spain, Italy and Greece in the negotiations of the Stability and Growth Pact, for greater flexibility in public investment.
• Leadership in European immigration policy: Portugal can and should propose a more effective model of integration and regularization than the current exclusionary policies.
• Defending the interests of Portuguese fishing and agriculture in the CAP and Common Fisheries Policy negotiations.
• Active participation in building the European digital single market — Portugal has the potential to be a European technology hub if it has the right internal policies.

PART XIII — IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: HOW AND WHEN

13.1 — Phasing in 3 Time Horizons

HORIZON 1 — FIRST 100 DAYS: WHAT WE DO IMMEDIATELY • Presentation of draft laws to increase the minimum wage to €1,050 (step 1 towards €1,200). • Immediate moratorium on new local accommodation licenses in areas of high housing pressure. • Approval of the reinforced conflict of interest law (revolving door). • Creation of the Electoral Reform Commission with a 12-month mandate. • Launch of the real-time public contract transparency portal. • Declaration of a housing emergency with a 6-month plan for the first 5,000 public housing units. • Approval of a 15% salary increase for doctors and nurses in the National Health Service (1st step).

HORIZON 2 — YEARS 1 TO 3: STRUCTURAL REFORMS • Approval of the new electoral law with open lists. • Start of construction of the first 50,000 public housing units. • Complete tax reform (new tax brackets, exemption up to €12,000, wealth taxation). • Specialized anti-corruption court in operation. • RBC pilot program in 2 municipalities. • Curriculum reform for primary and secondary education. • 100% of urban public transport decarbonized. • Forest conversion program initiated.

HORIZON 3 — YEARS 3 TO 10: SYSTEMIC TRANSFORMATION • Universal Basic Income implemented. • 200,000 public housing units built and occupied. • 100% of electricity from renewable sources. • Public debt reduced to 80% of GDP. • Average Portuguese salary in line with the European average. • Emigration of skilled professionals reversed — positive migration balance. • Absolute poverty eliminated. • A healthcare system with true universal coverage and no waiting lists exceeding 3 months.

13.2 — Monitoring and Accountability Mechanisms

Any program without monitoring mechanisms is just a list of good intentions. The DDS establishes success indicators and accountability mechanisms from the outset.

• Online Public Indicators Panel, updated monthly, showing progress on all program objectives.
• Mandatory annual report to parliament with independent assessment of progress.
• Scientific Committee for the Evaluation of Public Policies: a group of independent academics and experts who annually assess the impact of implemented measures.
• Mid-term review referendums: citizens may be called upon to vote on the continuation of specific policies at the end of 2 years of implementation.
• Any minister or secretary of state who fails to meet the objectives of the public performance contract for two consecutive years is replaced — without political exceptions.

CONCLUSION: THE PORTUGAL WE CAN BE

Portugal has all the ingredients to be an extraordinary country: a privileged geographical location, unique natural resources, a global language, a rich and diverse culture, and — above all — capable, resilient and intelligent people who deserve a country worthy of their stature.

What is lacking is not talent or resources. What is lacking is a political system that works for the citizens instead of for itself; an economy that distributes what it produces instead of concentrating it; a state that serves instead of serving itself; and a society that offers real opportunities to everyone, regardless of where they were born.

DirectDemocracyS doesn't promise an immediate paradise. It promises honest work, real plans, total transparency, and the courage to make the tough decisions that traditional parties avoid because they clash with the interests of their funders.

The Portugal we can be in 2035 is a country where a young doctor doesn't need to emigrate to earn what they deserve; where a middle-class family can have a decent home without spending more than 30% of their income; where justice works for everyone and not just for those who can afford it; where forests don't burn catastrophically every summer; and where every citizen has not only the formal right to vote but the real power to influence the decisions that affect their life.

This Portugal exists. It is within reach. But it demands a real break with the ways of doing politics that produced the current situation. This break is what DirectDemocracyS represents.

JOIN DIRECTDEMOCRACYS This program is a starting point, not a sacred document. DDS believes that the best political programs are built collectively, with the active participation of citizens. If you agree with this vision — or if you disagree and have better proposals — come and participate. DDS is a members' organization, funded by members, managed by members. Power does not belong to one leader. It belongs to everyone. directdemocracies.org | public.directdemocracies.org

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