The Regional Secretary for Education and Culture stated in Ponta Delgada that the involvement of the Azores in World War I is "a result of the geography" of a "privileged" strategic positioning of the archipelago in the middle of the North Atlantic.

Avelino Meneses spoke at the opening of the international conference "The Great War and the Azores: from naval strategy to trench warfare." He emphasised that the positioning of the archipelago between two continents aroused the interest of the main countries involved in the conflict. This "coveting" is also visible in the "contenders of all times, including those of today."

The installation of a U.S. naval base in Ponta Delgada and submarine cable stations in Horta are, according to Avelino Meneses, the "major" signs evidencing the Azorean participation in the first world conflict of the 20th century.
During this period, when Portugal was experiencing a situation of upheaval motivated by participation in the war and by the establishment of the Republic, a "feeling of revulsion" was generated in the Azores.

It was a feeling that "revived the autonomous verve, eventually separatist, regarding the placement of the Azores on the sidelines of the disturbances happening in Portugal," added the government official.

This political movement was "anchored in a regional-based reflection” succeeded in ensuring the establishment of "autonomist principles and practices of the 19th century," embodied in the decree of February 16, 1928. However, it was stifled by the rise of Salazar to power, said Avelino Meneses.

According to the Regional Secretary, for these reasons it is important to study the implications of World War I that "truly" marked the opening of "a new century" that, among other things, "allowed the establishment of Autonomy."