Azores Situation Report Wednesday 21st May 2025
Political disbelief and low levels of education explain abstention in the Azores
Professor of Political Science at the University of the Azores, Luís Andrade, pointed to disbelief in the political class, lack of education and levels of exclusion to explain the fact that the Azores were the region with the highest abstention rate in the legislative elections.
“A substantial part of the population has stopped believing in politics as it is today. The party apparatus, of several parties, does not satisfy the aspirations of a part of the population”, argued the professor of Political Science at the University of the Azores.
The Azores were the electoral district with the highest abstention rate in Sunday’s legislative elections, with 56.19%, while Braga was the district with the lowest abstention, 30.29%.
Of the 10 municipalities with the highest abstention rate, eight are in the Azores electoral district, with Ribeira Grande leading, with 62.34% and, in second place, Vila Franca do Campo, with 61.38%.
In fourth place comes Vila do Porto (59.78%), followed by Povoação (59.62%), Calheta (59.20%), Velas (57.31%), Vila Praia da Vitória (57.04%) and Lagoa (56.79%).
For Luís Andrade, there is a “disbelief that the party system cannot meet the aspirations” of the population, especially among the youngest.
The retired professor also highlighted the social context of the Azores, marked by “alarming levels of poverty” and low schooling rates.
“It’s a combination of factors such as poverty, social exclusion, and people’s lack of education. The lack of political culture also helps to explain abstention. People don’t identify with the parties, especially those with less education,” he added.
According to data released in January by the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation, the Azores have the highest poverty (24.2%) and social exclusion (28.4%) rates in the country.
The archipelago also has an early education and training dropout rate of 19.8%, well above the national average (6.6%), according to the National Statistics Institute (INE).
University professor Luís Andrade considered that political parties should be “concerned with studying the problem” of abstention in depth but warned that the political participation of citizens should be a mission for “the whole of society”.
“It is not easy, it is not just the mission of political parties, it is the mission of the whole society. Starting from schools, whether primary, secondary or even university, to start making people of young ages actively participate from an early age to encourage them to vote in any type of election”, highlighted the political scientist.
HDES begins monitoring patients at home this summer
The Home Hospitalization Unit will start this summer with five beds outside the hospital, whose patients will be cared for at home and accompanied by a medical and nursing team.
The Home Hospitalization Unit (UHD) at the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo (HDES) will start this summer, until September, with five beds outside the hospital context, which will receive daily visits from a medical and nursing team, from Monday to Friday, during the morning period.
The presentation of the new UHD was held yesterday in the Auditorium of the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo, followed by a visit to the unit’s facilities, in the presence of the president of the board of directors and clinical director, Paula Macedo, as well as the medical and nursing coordinators of the UHD, respectively Marisa Rocha and Andreia Sousa.
The coordinating doctor of the HDES Home Hospitalization Unit, Marisa Rocha, explained that “home hospitalization has advantages at all levels, first and foremost for the patient, who is no longer hospitalized and can receive the same level of care at home, with the same scientific rigor and with humanization and proximity to health professionals”. This is because, in a hospital setting and with several patients hospitalized, it is not always easy for the patient to speak to the doctor or nurse when they want to.
But home hospitalization also has benefits at a social level, “because we can, by being in the patient’s home, increase health literacy, with benefits for patients and their families”, explained Marisa Rocha, also avoiding many rehospitalization situations.
Furthermore, in a family environment, risks for the patient are reduced when they are in a hospital context, such as falls, confusion syndromes or hospital infections, stated the coordinating doctor of the UHD at Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo.