When justice fails, vigilantes appear. Portugal is crossing that line

An actor is beaten by a group of neo-Nazis in the middle of the street. Violent attacks have become routine in the news — and they no longer surprise us.
Criminals caught red-handed leave the next day with their heads held high, as if nothing had happened. Worse still, they return to the same places, look their victims in the eye, and know that nothing will happen to them.
People see. People talk. But they feel alone. The widespread feeling — and one that is legitimized by facts — is simple and frightening: justice does not work.
The police arrest, but the courts postpone, file, and delay. The victim waits for years. The aggressor sleeps peacefully. Meanwhile, a feeling grows that the country cannot ignore: that those who obey the law are alone — and those who break it are not afraid. And this has consequences.
When the State is absent, the streets organize. First, there are groups that want to “set an example”. Then, the vigilantes. Then, the militias. This is not fiction. It is the inevitable logic of unanswered anger. History has already shown how this happens.
In the 1930s, democracy in Germany did not die overnight. It died slowly. It died when politicians began to pretend that violence was an exaggeration. When the courts stopped sentencing. When citizens began to feel that they needed to protect themselves. That was when the first groups appeared that said they would "take the law into their own hands". And when real justice wanted to act... it no longer had the strength.
Portugal is not Germany. But the line we are treading is the same. It is not just about criminality. It is about clear signs of a system that is failing in the essentials: protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty.
Today, in many neighborhoods, stores, schools, and even courts, fear has taken hold. And the State seems to shrug its shoulders. Those who threaten public officials, judges, security guards, and those who live off systematic abuse fear no consequences. And worse still: they begin to feel that they have implicit permission to continue.
And what about politicians? They continue to engage in empty debates, in round speeches, in invisible reforms.
How long? How far will we let this grow? How far do we have to go before we admit that justice is failing us seriously?
It is not normal to live in a country where fear gains voice and the law loses strength. It is not normal for those who obey the law to feel alone.
Portugal still has time. But only if the State wakes up. Only if those responsible have the courage to face the system they built and which is now crumbling.
Because when justice fails, vigilantes appear. And democracy cannot survive much more of this silence.
Economist and consultant
sapo