‘Portugal poverty set to rise’ as low incomes ‘leave millions behind’

Just as the government seems intent on ‘reviewing welfare benefits’ (as they may be overly-generous) leading economists and social policy experts have sounded a stark warning: Portugal’s poverty rate is expected to increase further – with more than 1.7 million people already ‘living in poverty’, and worsening economic pressures threatening to deepen social inequality.

Speaking during Antena 1’s Consulta Pública radio programme, Pordata director Luísa Loura said Eurostat projections point to a further increase in poverty despite recent economic growth.

“Portugal is a poor country. It cannot achieve the same standard of living as the rest of Europe with the income levels it has,” she explained. “We are all much poorer than our brothers and sisters in the European Union.”

Her remarks echoed concerns shared by specialists from across the social and economic sectors, who argue that headline economic indicators mask the reality of stagnant incomes, regional disparities and growing hardship for vulnerable families.

Elizabeth Santos, a sociologist with the European Anti-Poverty Network, warns that national averages conceal severe pockets of deprivation across the country.

“Poverty statistics hide areas where deprivation is much worse than the national figures suggest,” she said.

Economist Susana Peralta challenged arguments that recent population growth is automatically responsible for weaker GDP per capita – dismissing what she described as simplistic interpretations of the data.

“We cannot make supermarket arithmetic and conclude that GDP will fall in exact proportion to population growth,” she said.

The programme also featured testimony from Carla Teixeira, a former welfare recipient who now serves on Porto’s Local Citizens’ Council. She urged politicians to experience the realities faced by low-income households firsthand (before they start devising ways of removing subsidies from them).

“I invite politicians to spend a week living with a poor family,” she said.

According to Teixeira, conditions are continuing to deteriorate.

“The country is making poor people even poorer. People are giving up,” she said.

The debate focused very much on the government’s proposed Single Social Benefit (Prestação Social Única – PSU), which has become one of the most contentious elements of the current social policy agenda, as it seeks to lump 13 welfare benefits into one, with a view to reducing money received.

José António Pinto, a social worker at Campanhã Parish Council in Porto, accused Prime Minister Luís Montenegro’s government of showing “a huge lack of social sensitivity and democratic culture” in its approach to the reform.

“It shows arrogance in the exercise of political power and a complete disregard for these people, as if they were rubbish,” he said.

Francisco Branco, a professor at the Portuguese Catholic University’s Faculty of Human Sciences, also voiced serious concerns about the measure, warning that its real impact on vulnerable households may only become clear after implementation.

“We may have to wait to see poverty increase before the government understands the consequences the PSU could have,” he said.

Attention was also drawn to the Azores, which continue to record some of Portugal’s highest poverty indicators. According to the study Portugal, Social Balance 2025, some residents are unable to afford an adequate diet or essential healthcare.

Charities and local support organisations say demand for assistance is continuing to rise. Among them is the Porta da Misericórdia project on Terceira Island, which reports increasing requests for help with food shortages, poverty and access to basic healthcare as more families struggle with the rising cost of living.

Source material: Executive Digest