The President of the Government defended the need to assert Autonomy as a tool for a better Democracy, not only for the material comfort it provides to the Azorean people but also for a better society in terms of responsibility, solidarity and participation.
 
"We must all take up the challenge to regenerate Autonomy in order to make it more attractive to the new generation of Azoreans who will be responsible for defending, strengthening and enduring it" in time, said Vasco Cordeiro.
 
The President of the Government spoke Friday at the solemn session celebrating the 42nd anniversary of the April 25 Revolution, an event promoted by São Roque do Pico Town Hall. It was attended by the former President of the Republic, General Ramalho Eanes, and the former President of the Regional Assembly, Álvaro Monjardino.
 
In his speech, Vasco Cordeiro stressed that the challenge to regenerate Autonomy only depends on the Azorean people, through the commitment towards new solutions to reinforce the involvement of citizens in their collective and democratic life, making them feel increasingly part of Autonomy.
 
"In other words, we need solutions that create practical and feasible conditions for the strengthening of an enlightened, committed and critically constructive citizenship, which is not limited to the convening of Azoreans to electoral acts. It should rather count on them to build a prestigious and recognised Autonomy, also in the country, for the solutions it offers to its People and not for the institutional conflict it generates," said the government official.
 
However, Vasco Cordeiro defended that the solution towards a better Autonomy is not, as it has never been, outside politics, "although it may seem demagogically attractive to some."
 
"Yes, it is within policy, which plays a major role at the service of those to whom it is addressed, whether it is embodied in the more traditional manner of political parties or in new movements generated by society itself," defended Vasco Cordeiro.
 
The President of the Government also stressed the importance of Regional Autonomy for the development of the Azores after its constitutional consecration, pointing out the example of the Region's GDP "per capita" that only represented 45 percent of the national GDP in 1974. Currently, according to official EU data, it reached 91 percent of the national average.
 
"In education, before the constitutional consecration of Autonomy, 40 percent of the Azorean villages did not even have schools, whereas today the public network consists of 40 Organic Units, covering the nine islands of our Region," stressed Vasco Cordeiro. The President of the Government recalled that the main health facilities were located on two largest islands, while today, in addition to the three hospitals in Ponta Delgada, Angra do Heroísmo and Horta, the Azoreans have at their disposal 18 health centres and over a hundred health units.
 
As for the many autonomic achievements, Vasco Cordeiro also highlighted a very important component for the life of Azoreans, which stood out in this period of increased turbulence.
 
"I speak of the ability endowed by Autonomy regarding the development of policies and social support directed to those who are in a more vulnerable situation, some of which only exist in our Region. They were created by our self-government bodies and, in some cases, they were the last resort for many Azoreans who were strongly affected by the troubled times that we still face," said the President of the Government.
 
"Even before some national misunderstanding, we have used all our resources and all our powers to fulfil the noblest function of Autonomy to serve the Azorean people," concluded the President of the Government.