“I am here today, face-to-face with our Prime Minister, to tell him, in front of all of you, that I trust his word. He has never deceived me. But it is crucial to move from words to action. Let us move forward, restore justice for the Madeiran people,” he declared.
Miguel Albuquerque spoke at the PSD/Madeira party event held at Herdade do Chão da Lagoa, nestled in the mountains overlooking Funchal. It is considered the largest party event organized in the region, attracting thousands of people, and he addressed the gathering after Luís Montenegro.
“We must have the ability, right now, to free ourselves from the shackles of the mainland,” he asserted, emphasizing that the PSD aims to strengthen the autonomous region’s ability to “decide democratically” its project and future.
In addition to reaffirming the importance of reviewing regional finance laws and resolving several outstanding issues with the Republic, the Madeiran social-democrat leader announced his intention to spearhead a constitutional revision project to “free the region from the chains of centralism.”
“I will personally lead a working group to present a constitutional revision project so that Madeira may finally have the right to a future of freedom and development,” he stated, adding, “We cannot remain stuck; we cannot remain shackled by centralism.”
Miguel Albuquerque argued that currently, the Constitution, decisions by the Constitutional Court, and a “set of absurdities in the Republic’s law” only serve to “block and create difficulties” in Madeira’s development.
Furthermore, Albuquerque stressed the importance of the Prime Minister and his government fulfilling commitments already made with the autonomous region, emphasizing that “the Madeirans are tired of being renegaded by the Republic, and the Republic must assume its responsibilities.”
“It is essential that the State, within the framework of the Constitution, assumes the additional costs of ultraperipheral and insular status,” he said, adding: “It is no favor that the Republic and the Portuguese State do for us. It is an obligation to the Portuguese of the islands.”
The regional executive leader highlighted that Madeirans are “first-class citizens” and noted that the region has shown economic growth for 49 consecutive months, assuring that the party, which has governed the region since 1976, will continue to lead the archipelago on the “path of progress.”
Miguel Albuquerque also underlined that the PSD’s objective in the municipal elections on October 12 is to win in the 11 municipalities that make up the autonomous region and introduced the 11 leading candidates on stage at Herdado do Chão da Lagoa.
