After six years at the head of Madeira’s regional government, Miguel Albuquerque assures us that his political vision has proved accurate. He doesn’t like futurology, but he believes that the region will emerge stronger, politically and socially, in the post-pandemic period, largely due to his work in government, which at time has been under fire. As far as the economy is concerned, he points to the sea, linking it to research and development, with entrepreneurship and attractiveness, to bring in new companies and boost underdeveloped sub-sectors in Portugal, for which Madeira, he says, has great potential. But the usual problem remains. He asks for more degrees of freedom in the autonomy of his territory, to be able to do «more» and do it «differently». Something which, as we know, depends on relations with the mainland. And these are still stuck in what he calls a «natural» tension.
The island of Madeira has «produced» some of the names to have most boosted Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo, Nini Andrade Silva, Tolentino Mendonça, among others. In your opinion, what makes this autonomous region so strong and with such charismatic people?
Madeira, as in other places in the world, is fortunate to see local citizens gaining notoriety and prestige nationally and worldwide. This is not only a source of great pride for all of us, but also a way of making people aware of this beautiful region – a land of sun, nature and sea, for excellent reasons. The luxuriance of nature, the difficult and challenging territory, the very fact that we live on islands make Madeirans unique people, used to challenges – but also to the wonder, which we come across at the turn of every corner. Perhaps this sharpens their ingenuity and creativity and is a reason for many of those born here to excel.
Madeira has often been accused of going too far in the measures adopted to contain the pandemic. Did you prefer to err on the side of caution?
I consider that the criticism is completely unfounded. I cannot accept that the desire to take measures, often different from the national measures, with a greater degree of restriction, but always with planning, a strategy and a basis, can be seen as excessive. The pandemic is not over. It has been through different events and Madeira has been able to protect those who live here, and work here and welcome those who want to visit us. The pioneering measures we have developed, opening the airport on 1 July 2020, with testing of all travellers, confinements when necessary, and very clear rules on how to enter and move about the territory, were essential for us to have established ourselves as a safe, reliable and low-incidence area for the pandemic. If we had not had the courage to take these measures, today we would be going through a much more difficult economic and social situation.
«The Autonomous Region of Madeira has enormous potential, as long as the country understands and lets us grow, innovate and prosper»
Will Madeira come out of this period stronger politically and socially?
I believe it will. But I do not like futurology. We are going through a period of many uncertainties, where what is certain today may be uncertain next week. We are working on all fronts. In supporting health, in defending jobs, in supporting businesses, in controlling the pandemic, in helping those most affected by the crisis. Politically, I think that Madeira has shown that it knows how to do things differently, with consistency and setting an international example. It’s not me saying this, rather international institutions that have come to understand how the mechanism we set up to ensure trust and safety in the two islands works. Socially, I believe that with the work we are doing and with what we plan to implement in the future, we will be more resilient and stronger.
What are the major commitments planned for the archipelago in the coming years, namely in terms of economic recovery and tourism?
One of the main commitments for the future of Madeira is a continuous and steady investment in the sea. We are pioneers in areas such as aquaculture, such as the International Shipping Register, a Portuguese register that is the fifth largest in Europe and aims to become the third. We are strongly committed to gaining attractiveness in new areas related to the economy of the sea, linking R&D with entrepreneurship, attracting new companies and stimulating sub-sectors that are still underdeveloped in Portugal and for which the Autonomous Region of Madeira has enormous potential, as long as the country understands and lets us grow, innovate and prosper. I say this because, in many aspects, this does not depend only on our desire to do things faster, to do them differently and to make them happen consistently. Often the prevailing bureaucracy, which ties up the country, is one of the biggest obstacles. But, along with the sea, tourism will naturally be an indisputable sector in the coming decades. However, we should not be exclusively dependent on its success or at the mercy of its not-so-good moments. The International Business Centre of Madeira is another instrument that we must strengthen. In its thirty-plus years of activity, it has established itself around the world as a space attracting companies from the most diverse areas. It represents, not only an important source of revenue for Madeira, but also an opportunity of employment, mostly qualified, for many young professionals, who find in these companies an excellent opportunity. Along with this, we are strongly committed to affirming ourselves as a Region that welcomes researchers, workers and investors, who, with excellent communications, can develop their work from the island, living in a very pleasant, not overcrowded place with quality of life.
«Often the prevailing bureaucracy, which ties up the country, is one of the biggest obstacles»
In your opinion, what are the main tools Madeira would need to make the leap it so strongly advocates?
We need several tools, which, inexplicably, are not made available to us or are conditioned by a certain centralist vision that prevails in some minds. One of them is the possibility of being fiscally competitive. An outlying region, such as Madeira, which has no scale for industry, needs to be able to attract investors by being fiscally competitive. This attractiveness would allow us to increase the region’s own revenue, which is essential for us to support the costs of Health, Education, infrastructure maintenance or social support for the socially disadvantaged. We need other degrees of freedom in the autonomy of the territory, so that we can do things differently, so that we can move faster and more effectively, in a time when the world does not wait for constant indecision. A practical example? We have been waiting for more than five years of toing and froing on a decision as to the installation of more modern equipment at Cristiano Ronaldo Airport, essential for its operational improvement. Meetings and more meetings. They don’t install anything. They don’t decide who will install it. They refuse even to let the Regional Government pay for them. And we proposed this, in the face of so much hesitation. And the conclusion? Every week we see our tourism being penalised because the bureaucracy and distance of those who have to take these decisions make the problem a mere pittance for those 900 km away, who do not even know what this is all about. They don’t know, nor do they want to know.
Is the Government of Madeira a good example of regionalisation?
I have no doubt that the Autonomous Region of Madeira is an excellent example of the virtues of regionalisation. But, from a country that has a concrete regionalisation project stuffed in a drawer, because the politicians in the system prefer political correctness, which won’t tear centralist power from Lisbon, little should be expected in the next decade. It was ordered by an independent commission, appointed by the Assembly of the Republic, took a year to prepare, was delivered and, as usual, consigned to the bottom of the drawer. That is why Portugal continues to be increasingly asymmetric, deserted, unequal and poor. A Portugal that is afraid of its own shadow will never escape the mindset of a hand outstretched towards Europe, of being content with little, of the mediocrity that bores everyone. Woe betide anybody if autonomy were not to exist, with its own governing bodies - a Legislative Assembly and a Government. We would still be in the ‘stone age’.
«We are strongly committed to asserting ourselves as a Region that welcomes researchers, workers and investors»
How would you characterise relations between Madeira and the mainland?
They are the normal relationships, between someone who wants to do more, more quickly, and often differently, not on a whim, but because it seems to us the most appropriate to our reality. Cordiality is clear. Of course, it exists between people who hold public positions. But, there is a natural tension, which results from the insurmountable dichotomy between an ancestral posture of being the centre of everything, which looks with distance and little interest at the positions and issues of a handful of people who live somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic, and the urgency they place on solving the problems they face every day. To fail to see this as natural is to fail to understand the human condition.
The island of Madeira has «produced» some of the names to have most boosted Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo, Nini Andrade Silva, Tolentino Mendonça, among others. In your opinion, what makes this autonomous region so strong and with such charismatic people?
Madeira, as in other places in the world, is fortunate to see local citizens gaining notoriety and prestige nationally and worldwide. This is not only a source of great pride for all of us, but also a way of making people aware of this beautiful region – a land of sun, nature and sea, for excellent reasons. The luxuriance of nature, the difficult and challenging territory, the very fact that we live on islands make Madeirans unique people, used to challenges – but also to the wonder, which we come across at the turn of every corner. Perhaps this sharpens their ingenuity and creativity and is a reason for many of those born here to excel.
Madeira has often been accused of going too far in the measures adopted to contain the pandemic. Did you prefer to err on the side of caution?
I consider that the criticism is completely unfounded. I cannot accept that the desire to take measures, often different from the national measures, with a greater degree of restriction, but always with planning, a strategy and a basis, can be seen as excessive. The pandemic is not over. It has been through different events and Madeira has been able to protect those who live here, and work here and welcome those who want to visit us. The pioneering measures we have developed, opening the airport on 1 July 2020, with testing of all travellers, confinements when necessary, and very clear rules on how to enter and move about the territory, were essential for us to have established ourselves as a safe, reliable and low-incidence area for the pandemic. If we had not had the courage to take these measures, today we would be going through a much more difficult economic and social situation.
«The Autonomous Region of Madeira has enormous potential, as long as the country understands and lets us grow, innovate and prosper»
Will Madeira come out of this period stronger politically and socially?
I believe it will. But I do not like futurology. We are going through a period of many uncertainties, where what is certain today may be uncertain next week. We are working on all fronts. In supporting health, in defending jobs, in supporting businesses, in controlling the pandemic, in helping those most affected by the crisis. Politically, I think that Madeira has shown that it knows how to do things differently, with consistency and setting an international example. It’s not me saying this, rather international institutions that have come to understand how the mechanism we set up to ensure trust and safety in the two islands works. Socially, I believe that with the work we are doing and with what we plan to implement in the future, we will be more resilient and stronger.
What are the major commitments planned for the archipelago in the coming years, namely in terms of economic recovery and tourism?
One of the main commitments for the future of Madeira is a continuous and steady investment in the sea. We are pioneers in areas such as aquaculture, such as the International Shipping Register, a Portuguese register that is the fifth largest in Europe and aims to become the third. We are strongly committed to gaining attractiveness in new areas related to the economy of the sea, linking R&D with entrepreneurship, attracting new companies and stimulating sub-sectors that are still underdeveloped in Portugal and for which the Autonomous Region of Madeira has enormous potential, as long as the country understands and lets us grow, innovate and prosper. I say this because, in many aspects, this does not depend only on our desire to do things faster, to do them differently and to make them happen consistently. Often the prevailing bureaucracy, which ties up the country, is one of the biggest obstacles. But, along with the sea, tourism will naturally be an indisputable sector in the coming decades. However, we should not be exclusively dependent on its success or at the mercy of its not-so-good moments. The International Business Centre of Madeira is another instrument that we must strengthen. In its thirty-plus years of activity, it has established itself around the world as a space attracting companies from the most diverse areas. It represents, not only an important source of revenue for Madeira, but also an opportunity of employment, mostly qualified, for many young professionals, who find in these companies an excellent opportunity. Along with this, we are strongly committed to affirming ourselves as a Region that welcomes researchers, workers and investors, who, with excellent communications, can develop their work from the island, living in a very pleasant, not overcrowded place with quality of life.
«Often the prevailing bureaucracy, which ties up the country, is one of the biggest obstacles»
In your opinion, what are the main tools Madeira would need to make the leap it so strongly advocates?
We need several tools, which, inexplicably, are not made available to us or are conditioned by a certain centralist vision that prevails in some minds. One of them is the possibility of being fiscally competitive. An outlying region, such as Madeira, which has no scale for industry, needs to be able to attract investors by being fiscally competitive. This attractiveness would allow us to increase the region’s own revenue, which is essential for us to support the costs of Health, Education, infrastructure maintenance or social support for the socially disadvantaged. We need other degrees of freedom in the autonomy of the territory, so that we can do things differently, so that we can move faster and more effectively, in a time when the world does not wait for constant indecision. A practical example? We have been waiting for more than five years of toing and froing on a decision as to the installation of more modern equipment at Cristiano Ronaldo Airport, essential for its operational improvement. Meetings and more meetings. They don’t install anything. They don’t decide who will install it. They refuse even to let the Regional Government pay for them. And we proposed this, in the face of so much hesitation. And the conclusion? Every week we see our tourism being penalised because the bureaucracy and distance of those who have to take these decisions make the problem a mere pittance for those 900 km away, who do not even know what this is all about. They don’t know, nor do they want to know.
Is the Government of Madeira a good example of regionalisation?
I have no doubt that the Autonomous Region of Madeira is an excellent example of the virtues of regionalisation. But, from a country that has a concrete regionalisation project stuffed in a drawer, because the politicians in the system prefer political correctness, which won’t tear centralist power from Lisbon, little should be expected in the next decade. It was ordered by an independent commission, appointed by the Assembly of the Republic, took a year to prepare, was delivered and, as usual, consigned to the bottom of the drawer. That is why Portugal continues to be increasingly asymmetric, deserted, unequal and poor. A Portugal that is afraid of its own shadow will never escape the mindset of a hand outstretched towards Europe, of being content with little, of the mediocrity that bores everyone. Woe betide anybody if autonomy were not to exist, with its own governing bodies - a Legislative Assembly and a Government. We would still be in the ‘stone age’.
«We are strongly committed to asserting ourselves as a Region that welcomes researchers, workers and investors»
How would you characterise relations between Madeira and the mainland?
They are the normal relationships, between someone who wants to do more, more quickly, and often differently, not on a whim, but because it seems to us the most appropriate to our reality. Cordiality is clear. Of course, it exists between people who hold public positions. But, there is a natural tension, which results from the insurmountable dichotomy between an ancestral posture of being the centre of everything, which looks with distance and little interest at the positions and issues of a handful of people who live somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic, and the urgency they place on solving the problems they face every day. To fail to see this as natural is to fail to understand the human condition.
