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Honourable Chairman of the General Meeting
Honourable Chairman of the Board of the National Confederation of Institutions of Solidarity,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I commence by saluting all the representatives of institutions of solidarity present here today and to express my gratitude for the work they have been carrying out in order to contribute for a more cohesive, friendly, fairer and better developed Portuguese society.

Recently, in my New Year Message, I addressed words of solidarity to the Portuguese, especially to those who are in particularly difficult circumstances.

Men and women who suffer in silence, not yet recovered from the shock of losing a job or from the destruction of a way of life which they thought as finally achieved. They have already been identified by the Media as the “new poor”.

We are faced daily nowadays with personal and family dramas which had been difficult to imagine. Dramas that statistics do not always reveal, but which alert us to the social dimension that the current economic and financial crisis has attained.

The letters which arrive daily at the Presidency of the Republic, the information that the civic organizations forward to us and the reports published by the media give us an expression of the reality that numbers are not often able to transmit.

The reality of the “new poor”, with greater incidence in the urban centres, can no further be fed on illusions.

Its size and intensity are reason enough to oblige us to face, truthfully and steadily, the difficult times we are going through, but also with hope and ambition for the future we want to build.

I believe that we will be able to overcome these difficult times. The path is narrow, but it is there, as I have stated on another occasion.

Both in recent and past history, the Portuguese have given more than sufficient proof of their character, of their will and of their feelings of solidarity, all of which can now help us to overcome these difficulties.

I thus face the future with confidence, even though I continue following the present with some apprehension.

The studies of international organizations reveal that we have a weak social structure, with very low cohesion values: marked inequalities in the distribution of income, a high poverty risk rate, low schooling levels, and an undeniable deficit in opportunities which could favour the social ascent of the more disadvantaged groups or even of those socially excluded.

Periods of economic crisis tend to emphasize social vulnerabilities, mainly because of the increase in the numbers of those who, having enjoyed positions of relative economic ease, find themselves, from one moment to another, in an unemployment situation, excessive debt and, why not say it, facing hunger and lack of nourishment.

Family bonds traditionally contributed to softening some of the effects of economic crises. However, due to the difficulties faced by the family institution, such bonds either no longer exist or are so fragile that they are unable to exercise that function.

The progressive decomposition of family bonds is not a sign of modernism.

I am certain that in this area we have not always treaded in the right direction.

From the contacts I have maintained with the heads of institutions of solidarity, I glean the information that the majority of cases of the “new poor” are associated with divorce situations.

I am also advised that these cases have a tendency to increase with the new divorce legislation approved in Parliament. I had the occasion to alert the Portuguese, in due time, to the foreseeable social consequences and deep injustice deriving from its application.

A few days ago, in the opening ceremony of the judicial year, I stated that legislation n produced in Portugal is often not based on our reality, and does not take into account the Country we are.

The new divorce law is a good example of that lack of comprehension, as has anyway already been stressed by numerous magistrates, legal experts in the area of family legislation and by the Portuguese Association of Women Jurists.

Portuguese society has social vulnerabilities which cannot be ignored or undervalued.

Such social vulnerabilities affect primarily the weaker: the children, especially those living in single parent families, the aged, and those subject to prolonged illness and deficiency.

The children must deserve our best attention.

They are simultaneously the weakest link but, on the other hand, they are the holders of our greatest source of hope. In the care centres, kindergartens, schools and leisure centres we have to strengthen our regard and our endeavour so that such children may avail themselves of minimum conditions of well being.

We must guarantee that no child or youth may see its educational prospects or its material and emotional well being affected by a change in its family living conditions.

This is the best investment we can make for the future of our country.

I am certain that there is a lot more to be done for these children and youths. Time passes much faster in their case and often in irrecoverable circumstances. .

It is urgent that the Portuguese power of solidarity is mustered.

Better than finding pretexts for division, it is urgent that we discover forces to unite us around a common objective.

Civic organizations and institutions of solidarity must be the catalysts of this will.

This is the only means by which we can confer a more humane dimension to social solidarity, greater proximity to action and greater effectiveness in the response to the issues arising.

It is important to ensure the minimum material means required for social action, to properly determine the priorities, to increase the efficiency in the creation of well being and to contribute to softening the effects of unemployment, the fall in income and the strangling indebtedness.

We have to be ready to face emergency social situations which may arise.

It is important that the scarce resources managed by the public and private institutions of solidarity are made available to the greatest possible number of needy citizens.

But more important is that we do so respecting the dignity of each person, of each family, of each case which requires our help.

Social solidarity does not live only from supports and donations.

It also lives out of our capability to create better opportunities for these persons to recover their self esteem and to feel confident that they can continue to be useful to their families, to their communities, to their enterprises and to their country.

This is the battle for dignity which we cannot lose.

For this reason I count upon you, upon your dedication, your competence, your capability to muster the resources of the communities in order that we may meaningfully overcome the difficulties.

In no circumstance can we abandon our ambition to build a Portugal which is fairer and with greater solidarity.