The president of the Assembly of the Republic invited the leaders of the regional governments of the Azores and Madeira to speak in parliament, on June 26, in the plenary session that will mark half a century of autonomy in Portuguese democracy.
In addition to José Manuel Bolieiro and Miguel Albuquerque, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco also invited the presidents of the regional legislative assemblies of the Azores and Madeira, Luís Garcia and Rubina Leal, to speak at this plenary session dedicated to the 50th anniversary of autonomy.
Representatives of parliamentary groups and single party deputies also spoke at the session.
“I am convinced that this evocation will constitute a particularly relevant opportunity to reaffirm the ties of institutional cooperation between the Assembly of the Republic and the autonomous regions, highlighting, before the country, the maturity and centrality of regional autonomy in the Portuguese constitutional architecture”wrote José Pedro Aguiar-Branco in the letter he sent to the presidents of governments and regional parliaments.
On June 27th, the 50th anniversary of the first regional elections in the Azores and Madeira will be completed. And the conference of leaders, in the Assembly of the Republic, has already approved the holding of an evocative plenary session, scheduled for the 26th, considering that the 27th coincides this year with a Saturday.
According to the President of the Assembly of the Republic, the session on June 26 “aims to highlight the historical and constitutional relevance of regional autonomy, highlighting its contribution to the consolidation of the democratic regime, to the effective exercise of the powers specific to the governing bodies of the autonomous regions and to the strengthening of national cohesion, with respect for the unity of the State and territorial diversity”.
“The constitutional consecration of regional autonomy reflected a structuring option made by the constituent legislator, establishing a model of political decentralization based on the existence of self-governing bodies, respect for the unity and sovereignty of the State and solidarity among all Portuguese people”defends the president of the Assembly of the Republic.
For Aguiar-Branco, “after five decades, the institutional path developed by the Autonomous regions and the experience accumulated in the exercise of their respective powers fully justify the holding of this evocative session, as a moment of Institutional recognition and reflection on the present and future challenges of autonomy in the national and European context”.
At a conference of leaders, in the Assembly of the Republic, it was also proposed to organize, in conjunction with the respective regional legislative assemblies, a Week for the Autonomous Region of the Azores and another specifically for Madeira, to be held at different times, on a date to be defined.
Initiative that, according to the Legislative Assembly, must integrate initiatives of an institutional, cultural and academic nature — specifically conferences, colloquiums, thematic exhibitions, gastronomic displays and musical moments — “aimed at valuing the identity, path and contribution of each autonomous region to the national whole.
Last October, during his official visit to Madeira, the president of the Assembly of the Republic warned that the “worst mistake” would be to make autonomies just a regional party.
“It can’t be. We need to bring autonomy to the political center of the country, not only in a sense of commemoration, but also of memory for everyone”he added.
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