Faro, the capital of the Algarve

How beautiful Democracy is,

So recently voters were called to the polls to elect a new Assembly of the Republic, and so soon they will once again express their will in the election of the party force that will determine their lives, for better or for worse, in their local government .

In these elections, the direct connection to the candidates—flesh-and-blood people like the voters—and their community knowledge prevails over the praise political forces often bestow upon their candidates. Although for all, their life stories and past civic achievements determine the choice voters make based on their assessment. Hence the distinct circumstantial nature of local elections, always reflected in voters' votes.

The Parties know this well and while in elections for the Assembly of the Republic they allow themselves to put at the top of the list personalities who often have no known connection to the constituency for which they are running, in some cases even feeling the need to invoke a remote experience or ancestor, in local elections there is a concern to present personalities who are well-rooted in the community, if they have any, with well-known civic activity, respect recognized by citizens and well-identified rigor in their past practice of civic life.

Obviously, different views emerge in electoral proposals, but all subjectively seeking, from their point of view, the solution to the desires of the Community they propose to serve, with the only drawback being that less well-connected candidates find it more difficult to identify these desires, hence the difficulty of their electoral recognition.

It is up to the voter to choose, to vote is to choose, the projects and paths that seem most appropriate to them, to trust in the personality that gives them the greatest guarantees not only of respecting the electoral commitment made, but also the ability to carry out what they propose.

It is up to the voter to glimpse, through the opacity of the electoral dispute's fog, the civic rigor reflected in the past trajectory of the person being voted for, as well as the integration of each person into the society they intend to serve, as well as the value of the "work done," as they say.

All of this will unfold during the electoral "scuffle" in Faro, where many concerned voices express doubts about the capital's continued existence. The fear is understandable; the world is spinning, and many long-held aspirations have not been realized. But from there to questioning Faro's historical importance and relevance today is a huge step.

If Faro were not the capital that it is, it would not have such high-profile figures competing for its municipal leadership, including the President of the Algarve Municipalities Association, two of the most important Members of the Assembly of the Republic – from the front row of their respective Parliamentary Groups – one even the leader of his Group, another who many identify as the voice of the Algarve citizen, a position that he will certainly regretfully abdicate as a Member of Parliament, despite having been recently elected.

If Faro were not the capital that it is, the second Parliamentary Group of the Assembly of the Republic would not be willing to dispense with its parliamentary leader to occupy the presidency of the Chamber for which, as announced, he is running, in the distant city that is Faro, but which is the Capital of the Algarve.

If Faro weren't the capital that it is, one of the candidates, Cristóvão Norte, wouldn't have already announced that, once elected, he will create a new municipal body, the Council of Presidents, integrating the Presidents of the Deliberative and Executive Branches. This announced merger—the supervisory body within the same body as the supervised—seems strange and alien to the democratic practice achieved in April, but it will be a proposal he deems necessary for the city's development. It will be up to voters to ratify it or not.

Only the President of the Algarve Municipalities Association (AMAL), António Pina, who heads the PS proposal, shows a candidacy free from such serious personal and political disturbances, since the term limit prevents him from running for the local authority where he served three consecutive terms and therefore does not interrupt any electoral contract previously assumed, still displaying a long and well-known local government history.

But one thing is certain: if Faro were not the important city that it is, the Capital of the Algarve, there would not be a Member of Parliament willing to stop being the voice of the Algarve voters in the House of Democracy, a Parliamentary Leader without Faro experience identifying the importance of Faro and therefore willing to assume the presidency of its Chamber, and the President of AMAL aiming to continue his Municipal Service in the Capital's Chamber, as well as other candidacies that will not fail to present themselves.

If nothing else, the need identified by a political force, the PSD, to bring together the Presidents of the Executive and Deliberative Powers of local authorities into a single Body – deliberative, executive, perhaps consultative, at the highest level of the Municipality – despite some apparent democratic distortion, clearly shows how Faro, the Capital of the Algarve, maintains all its broad relevance.

Long live the capital of the Algarve! Long live Faro!

June 27, 2025*Farense citizen