the unfinished dream of building Portugal in the Atlantic — DNOTICIAS.PT
The origin of the Day of the Autonomous Region of the Autonomous Region of Madeira and the Madeiran communities is, the reason for what is enough, to carry out a careful and careful reflection on the reality of the autonomous regime and on their historical experience.
It is the opportunity to talk about a dream that started a lot and started out of nowhere, of a long and difficult path.
Building Autonomy was not and is not a simple task, even more so the starting point that is known, having been claimed from Lisbon not only a solution of self-governance was, but also the necessary resources convenient to the construction of this new reality.
Geographic, economic, social and cultural reasons at the base of the social and political movements of 18 deputies, which were made to the Chamber of Deputies, which were presented for the first time in the Chamber an Autonomic Regime, this time made to be presented by Deputy Moreira da and that was not even discussed in the Chamber given to the Azores of the parliament.
In Madeira, the governor and his family saw themselves from the height and the resistance to the São Lourenço palace and the press was quite active in the defense of insular interests.
This was followed by the promulgation on March 2, 1895, during the government presided over by Hintze Ribeiro, of a Decree that established an autonomous regime for the Azores for the first time, which was extended to Madeira in 1901.
The worsening of the tax burden and the increase in conflicts, in the Region, gave rise to dissatisfaction with the enormous authority emerging from the Estado Novo, which are the Farinha revolt, the Madeira revolt in 1931 and the Leite revolt in 1936.
In March 2008, a new administration for the Madeira archipelago was approved by the National Assembly38, constituting an Autonomous regime, with the administration of the cargo of a civil governor, with honors from the Minister of State.
This is, in very broad terms, the path that experimental autonomy took until the fall of the regime with the Revolution of 25 April.
It is easy to see that it has always been a kind of minor gift, with which the central power responds to the jousts that differentiate the people of these islands and with which the autonomists of then, like those of now, have never reconciled.
However, the advent of a new legal-constitutional reality of political-administrative autonomy has allowed the development of our region in the last four and six years, at a pace never seen before.
It is necessary that this historical responsibility be consolidated, in all its own, and that it be by the lessons of the past, by the fullness of its role in the development and strengthening of autonomy.
It is also time to talk about the future, about the way we still have a long way to go to broaden and deepen Autonomy, to continue improving our quality of life and to face new challenges. Challenges of Demographic, Housing, Economic and Social Emergencies resulting from a difficult pandemic context and a war that insists on continuing.
We are convinced that dialogue, which almost always generates consensus, will find the fairest ways to continue to guarantee our right to be different and to be Portuguese in these islands in the Atlantic.
It is important to move forward with a review of the Regional Finance Law and a review of the Constitution.
A relationship proper to a new relationship necessarily as Autonomous Regions and the Republic and to continue to deepen legislative competences, between its own tax system.
The need to create a separate constituency in the European Parliament for each of the Autonomous Regions and to enable Madeirans outside the region to participate in resident regions, among other aspects.
On the common occasion in which Nossa Senhora’s Day is celebrated, I offer heartfelt and respectful greetings to all the region committed to building this unfinished dream and consolidating this heritage – Autonomy – a peculiar way of building Portugal in the Atlantic.