SUBJECT: Law

Contributions for a full citizenship of Portuguese

Youth Contribuições Para Uma Cidadania Plena da Juventude Portuguesa

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FINALIDADE: Adquirir as competências que assegurem a protecção e o respeito dos Direitos Fundamentais do Homem

Objective: Acquire competences to secure the protection and the respect for Human Rights

Grupo 6

Social Conscience – Political Rights and the exercise of Citizenship

A Consciência Social – Os Direitos Políticos e o exercício da Cidadania

OBJECTIVE: To recognize inequalities of gender, i.e., infractions and the discrimination of Women at work.

Reconhecer as desigualdades de Género, designadamente, as Infracções e a Discriminação de que a Mulher é sujeita no domínio Laboral

Teacher: Rosário Ricou

Youth in an active Democracy and Abstencionism

The juvenile participation

• The democratic process, always important in a democracy such as Portugal, is highly dependant on the youth, who should not only keep the ideals in which the Republic was built, but also bring new ideas. However, the participation must not be careless, and the youth should leave space for those who enter the political circus after them.

“The problem about having young

members in government is the fact

that it is likely that they will remain

there for decades. No means of

government is the best for an

indefinite time.” – Pedro Silva

Influências na juventude

YOUTH influences

• Youth’s opinion is very much influenced by what their parents think, because they raise their children according to their political point of view. And we should remember the education given in school. Therefore, it is important to make sure that the education of the country’s future governors is a healthy and diverse one.

Youth icons

• It is worth mentioning the great influence of youth icons in music, video or writing. In Portugal, the most remarkable influence can be seen in authors like Zeca Afonso who managed to inspire the revolutionary youth from 1969 to 1974.

Abstention

The deprivation or yielding of a political, civic or social right.

What is Abstention?

The Carnation Revolution and Abstention

What was the Carnation Revolution?

The Carnation Revolution depicts the military coup-de-état that overthrew the dictatorship inherited from Oliveira Salazar and the historical, political and social events that followed until the approval of the Portuguese Constitution in April of 1976.

• The resurgence known as the “25th of April” was led in 1974 by intermediate officers of military rank (the MFA), mostly composed of capitains who had fought in the Colonial War.

Consequences of the Revolution

• The “Junta de Salvação Nacional” / National Salvation Commitee was

formed as a transitory Government. The MFA’s programme was resumed

in three Ds: Democratize, Decolonize and Develop.

• Portugal went through a troubled period that lasted two years, referred

to as the PREC (Revolutionary Process In Course), marked by the fight

and political persecution between left wing and right wing parties.

• On April 25th, 1975, the first free elections for the Constituent Assemly

were conducted, having won the party PS (Socialist Party, currently in

power).

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A DICTATORSHIP AND A DEMOCRACY

• DICTATORSHIP – Authoritarian State – Pluricontinental State – Centralized State – Constabulary State – Presidentialism of the prime

minister – Individual constitutional

rights annulled by government decree

– Corporatism – Mono partisanship – Secret and fraudulent

registration – Elections without freedom

• DEMOCRACY – Democratic State – Unitarian State – Local power and autonomic

regions – Rule of Law – Presidential and

Parliamentary regime – Protected rights and liberties – Syndicalism – Multi partisanship – Public and transparent

registry – Free elections

Crazy Days of PREC

Since PREC and its actions with “Junta de Salvação Nacional” comes the new fundamental Law – The 1976 Constitution. In this constitution new concepts were established: Portugal became a Democratic and socialist State.

Constitution of Portuguese Republic 2nd ARTICLE

(Democratic State and the transition to socialism)

The Portuguese Republic is a democratic State based on the popular sovereignty, the respect and guarantee of the fundamental rights and freedoms and the pluralism of expression and political and democratic organization, which has as an objective to assure the transition to socialism, creating conditions to the democratic exercise of power by the working classes.

The biggest differences of this constitution,

comparing it to the 1933 one, are:

- The right to political organizations; -Voting becomes direct secret and universal for the

Presidential elections; -All citizens have the rights and are subjecto to the duties

consecrated in the Constitution;Collective parties have the rights and duties compatible to their nature;

- All citizens are equal before the Law; -No one can be privileged, benefited, damaged, deprived of

any right or absent of any duty due to their ascent, sex, race, territory of origin, religion, political or ideological beliefs, level of education, economical or social situation.

After the Revolution, the abstention levels were lower than today.

• This phenomenon was due to the nationalist fever that happened in the period after the Revolution, when all citizens gained a new momentum to participate actively on the democracy – especially the youngest who had more progressive ideals and did not want to live in a fascist regime again.

Main reasons why people abstain from voting

a. Lack of confidence/dissatisfaction in politics;

b. The lack of interest in politics;

c. The fact that they think that their vote will not have any consequence or change anything.

Why don’t young people vote?

Lack of motivation/interest in politics;

They are absent from the world of work;

Different mentality in comparison with people who lived in the Old Regime.

Legislative Elections of 2009

They were marked by a record abstention of 39.4%, having voted less about 55 000 electors than in 2005.

The white votes registered at 1.75% and the void votes, 1.31%.

General profile of an abstentionist

According to a study published in the

newspaper “I”, the profile is of a person

with less than thirty years of age or

more than sixty-five, single and non-

religious, having low school education.

Years Legislative Elections Local Elections

1975

1976

1979

1980

8.34 % 16.47 % 35.34 % 17.13 % 28.26 % 16.06 %

However, there is the need to differentiate between those who abstain for lack of interest and for political

reasons

1st : “José Sócrates was re-elected Secretary General for PS with 97.2% of the votes. About 25 000 of the party’s 80 000 militants voted. 2nd: “Sócrates interpreted the victory as a clear sign of support to the Governments political line.” 3rd: “As we are interpreting things...” 4th: “What kind of sign did the 55 000 militants who didn’t vote want to give?”

Portugal in the EU

E.U.

• It was during the second enlargement of the CEE in 1986 that Portugal, twelve years after the Carnation Revolution, joined the Community, compromising to respect the principles of the Treaty of Rome and receiving funds to improve the economical and social condition of the country.

The Single European Act

• The Single European Act brought a great variety

of changes to the CEE, but the most important

one was the free circulation of people and

goods, which allowed for foreign studies

programmes, like Sócrates Programme and as

cultural ones like the Comenius Programme.

The Treaty of Maastricht

The Treaty of Maastricht or the European Union Treaty was signed on February 7th 1992

The European Economic Community was

renamed as the European Union. The European Citizenship was created.

The process to create the Monetary Union began.

European Citizenship

The European Citizenship was established by the Treaty of Maastricht

This citizenship was given to the nationals of all the Member-States by the European Union Treaty, and it was meant to make the process more relevant for citizens, reinforcing the protection of their rights and promoting the idea of an European identity.

The citizenship is a dynamic notion that should evolve accompanying the Union’s progress.

To have the European Citizenship you need to previously have the

nationality to one of the Member-States.

EXAMPLES OF RIGHTS FOR PEOPLE WITH THE EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP

• The right to freedom of movement and residence in any country in the

Union;

• The right to vote and apply to local (municipal) and european election in

any Member-State, under the conditions of said Member-State;

• The right to protection by diplomatic-consular authorities of another

Member-State in an extra-communitarian country, in case of absence of

diplomatic-consular representation of the State where the citizen is

from.

Duties to respect (among others):

• The payment of taxes;

• The use of public services;

• The payment of social security;

• The respect for the Law;

• The respect for the authority;

• The preservation of the environment;

• The respect for the rules of tolerance and courtesy to other citizens.

• After analysing these aspects, we come to the conclusion that

there are some wrong aspects in the development of our youth,

and that there is need for change, especially when it comes to

civic education. However, when we look at the evolution through

time, we find that it is necessary to apply reforms with patience,

because society changes slowly. However, we hope to see a

Portugal more connected to our European neighbours and one

that can effectively cooperate with them towards a better future.

Carolina Michaëlis High School

Porto – Portugal 2009/2010

Paper by:

David Gameiro, Diogo Almeida, João Luís Carvalho e Silva and Vitor Correia

12º I

Teacher:

Rosário Ricou