Welcome to the Official page of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic

Honourable Speaker of the Madeira Regional Parliament,
Honourable Representative of the Republic for the Autonomous Region of Madeira,
Honourable President of the Regional Government,
Honourable Members of Parliament,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I wish to greet the people of this Region through the Members of Parliament of the Autonomous Region of Madeira present here today. Regional autonomy, such as conceived in the Constitution of the Republic, only makes sense if used for the benefit of the people of Madeira and Porto Santo.

Autonomy, in its fullest and deepest meaning, was not artificially designed in the wording of our Fundamental Law. It was built daily by the people of Madeira, conquered step by step, with much effort and toil. The success of this political experience, an unarguable success, is, without any doubt, due to the Portuguese of the Madeira Autonomous Region.

I also greet the Members of Parliament of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, and particularly express my thanks to the Speaker of this Chamber for his invitation to join you on this occasion. A solemn occasion, certainly, but also a festive and convivial occasion, a common habit with the people of Madeira. This is a land that foreigners seek for its natural beauties, for the quality of its tourist offer and maybe above all, for its hospitality, its open spirit and the cosmopolitanism of its people.

However, I did not come to Madeira as a foreigner. I am visiting this Autonomous Region, which I have always admired, as President of the Portuguese Republic, the guarantor of the unity of the State, who swore he would ensure compliance of a constitutional text that recognizes the specificities of the insular regions. Madeira, as an integral part of the national territory, has its own identity, which must be recognized, esteemed, respected and dignified.

It is not just because the 1976 Constitution so stated that these islands are autonomous. They are autonomous because Nature so decided. The eternal aims of geography are as important as the ephemeral wish of human beings. Insularity is not a juridical fiction. It is a natural reality that, throughout the centuries, the people of Madeira converted into historical and cultural reality. The Members of the 1976 Constitutional Assembly simply recognized what physical and human geography had already created. Located in the Atlantic Ocean, not far from Portugal, Madeira has its own personality.

Madeira’s autonomy, however, is not just a geographical dictum. It is also an assertion of the will of the people who were born and who live here. It is equally an assertion of the will of the Madeira communities in the Diaspora, with whom I have contacted in several corners of the world. Thanks to the efforts of all the people of Madeira, autonomy is today an inescapable reality, denied by nobody, that nobody places in doubt. I repeat: insular autonomy is an intrinsic principle that no Portuguese will ever question.

This is the spirit that must guide the relationship between the regional and the central powers. The latter owe respect to autonomy, justly recognizing an existing specificity that claims its own dignity. The regional powers, in turn, must promote the dignity that they justly demand for themselves. Mutual respect only exists, naturally, with the contribution of both parties.

I am pleased to see that, throughout the last few decades, this land has been converted in a case of economic and social success, and that the development recorded here, apart from being the pride of all the people of Portugal, should serve as a stimulus to all the Portuguese. Madeira has shown us that it is possible to do better and obtain what we require, wherever the will can reach.

I equally view, with great satisfaction, the normalcy of the relationship between the regional authorities and those of the Republic. I am proud to have defended, when empowered with the Presidency of the Republic, the rise of this climate of confidence and of mutual respect.

Let us not have any doubts: all would lose out if a more or less artificial conflict should exist. The people of Madeira because the link of solidarity owed them by the Republic would suffer injury. The central authorities, because they would miss the opportunity to hear the legitimate cravings of a part of the people of Portugal, with whom dialogue must be held in a climate of peace and harmony.

I know there is much to undertake in common. I do not ignore that Madeira has its own problems which must be duly taken care of. With my visit I wish to become better acquainted, not just with the progress which is evident in this Region, but also with the challenges which it has to face in the future. I greatly rejoice with the fact the regional autonomy has reached a stage of maturity and a perfectly settled level of consolidation.

We are all aware that tensions are a natural and unavoidable reality in the assertion of regional autonomies. It would be odd if tensions should not exist. It would be a sign of immobility of the insular people; it would be a sign that the people of Madeira had become resigned. But this is not what is happening here. All over Madeira, we view instances of dynamism, whether entrepreneurial, social or cultural. The regional governmental bodies must give expression to this spirit of the people they represent. And, for the same reason, it is natural that they should show signs of unconformity. It is legitimate that they should demand more and better from the authorities of the Republic since, fundamentally, they want more and better for the people of the Region. To serve the people of Madeira also means demanding from the Republic what the Republic is capable of giving.

I am certain that the political culture of the Madeira Autonomous Region, when entering its stage of full maturity, is equally aware that solidarity from the Republic depends upon the available resources, and that these are necessarily limited. I have the deep conviction that the people of Madeira will not want to claim for themselves what cannot be given to the remaining Portuguese. I know the patriotism of the peoples of this Autonomous Region and the deep and unbreakable feeling that links them with Portugal. I thus believe that, in the name of this patriotism, the people of Madeira will not be averse to share sacrifices, when these are explained and demanded with fairness and without unjustified discrimination.

I rejoice with the spirit I find in the Madeira Autonomous Region. A dynamic, but serene spirit, a nonconformist, but peaceful attitude. Above all, the wish to cooperate, with loyalty and dignity, with the institutions of the Republic. I am certain that the latter also wish to collaborate for the benefit of all, since we are all Portuguese.

As Portuguese, we are equal in our duties as we are in our rights. Respect for autonomy and its legitimate demands is respect for the equality amongst all who wish to continue this collective aim which is Portugal. In Portugal’s name, I thank you for your courage, your strength, your tenacity.

To all the people of Madeira and their representatives, present in this House, thank you very much.