José Manuel Rosado
61 years old · Near Mértola, Baixo Alentejo
Small farmer (sheep, cork, olives)
Persona: Interior Alentejo Farmer
José Manuel Rosado
Quick Profile
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | José Manuel Rosado |
| Age | 61 |
| Gender | Male |
| Location | Near Mértola, Baixo Alentejo |
| Occupation | Small farmer (sheep, cork, olives) |
| Education | 6th grade (left school to work farm) |
| Housing | Owns family farmhouse (inherited) |
| Family | Widower, two sons (one in Lisbon, one in Switzerland) |
| Voter Status | Portuguese citizen - can vote |
Background Narrative
José Manuel was born in the same house where his grandfather was born. His family has worked this land for four generations. He remembers when Mértola had three cafés, a cinema, a school with 200 children. Now the school closed five years ago, one café remains, and the population is mostly over 60.
He lost his wife Maria to cancer three years ago—she had to travel to Beja for treatment, then Lisbon when it got serious. The nearest hospital is 90 minutes away. His sons begged him to sell the farm and move to the city, but this land is who he is. He can't imagine being anywhere else, even as the summers get hotter, the droughts longer, and his body protests the work.
He employs three workers now—all from Nepal. Twenty years ago, they would have been local boys. José Manuel treats them fairly, pays above minimum wage, helped one get his paperwork sorted. But sometimes, looking across the fields at workers who don't speak his language, he wonders what happened to Portugal.
Economic Situation
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Income level | Lower-middle (variable, ~€15,000-20,000/year) |
| Income source | Farm income + EU subsidies + small pension |
| Financial stress | Moderate (land-rich, cash-modest) |
| Housing cost burden | None (owns outright) |
| Economic trajectory | Declining (physically demanding, uncertain future) |
Values Profile (Schwartz Framework)
Higher-Order Values
| Dimension | Rating | Expression |
|---|---|---|
| Self-Transcendence | 3 | Cares for his workers, community; but "us first" instinct |
| Self-Enhancement | 2 | Not ambitious; wants respect, not power |
| Openness to Change | 1 | Deeply change-resistant; tradition is identity |
| Conservation | 5 | Security, tradition, conformity all paramount |
Specific Values (Top 3 priorities)
- Tradition: The land, the old ways, continuity with ancestors
- Security: Physical safety, economic stability, health access
- Benevolence: Family, community, loyalty to those close to him
Moral Politics Frame (Lakoff)
Primary frame: Strict Father
Expression: José Manuel believes in hard work, discipline, and earning your place. He respects authority—the church, the state (when it works), elders. He thinks young people today don't understand sacrifice. But he also feels abandoned by authorities who should protect rural Portugal.
Information Ecosystem
| Source Type | Specific Sources | Trust Level |
|---|---|---|
| TV | RTP1, CMTV, SIC | High |
| Online | Rarely—sons send WhatsApp links | Low (unfamiliar) |
| Social Media | WhatsApp (family group) | Medium |
| Regional newspaper occasionally | Medium | |
| Community | Café conversations, church, neighbors | Very High |
Media consumption pattern: TV news at lunch and dinner. Trusts what he sees on screen more than internet. Gets most political opinions from café conversations with the few remaining neighbors.
Political Profile
Voting History
| Election | Vote | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 Legislative | Chega | "Time to shake things up, they forgot us" |
| 2022 Legislative | PSD | "Anyone but PS" |
| 2021 Presidential | Marcelo | "Decent man" |
| Historical pattern | PCP family → PSD → now Chega |
Political Identity
- Left-Right self-placement: 7/10 (right-leaning, recent shift)
- Party identification: Was PSD; now Chega-sympathetic
- Political engagement: Low-Moderate—always votes, rarely other engagement
2026 Presidential Inclination
- Current leaning: Ventura (likely) or Gouveia e Melo
- Certainty: Leaning
- Key deciding factors: Who speaks for forgotten rural Portugal; immigration stance
Top Concerns (Ranked)
- Rural abandonment: "They're letting us die here. No services, no future, nothing."
- Healthcare distance: "If I have a heart attack, I'm dead before the ambulance arrives."
- Climate/drought: "The summers are killing us. Used to rain in May. Not anymore."
- Immigration changes: "These boys work hard, but who will they marry? This isn't their home."
- Farm succession: "When I die, what happens to this land? My sons won't come back."
Hopes
For himself:
"I want to die on this land, not in some Lisbon hospital where nobody knows my name. I want to work until I can't, then rest where my wife is buried."
For Portugal:
"I hope someone remembers that Portugal isn't just Lisbon and Porto. That the interior matters. That we built this country too."
For his sons:
"I hope they're happy where they are. I understand why they left. I just wish... I wish they didn't have to."
Fears
Personal fears:
"Dying alone. Having a stroke and lying there for days before anyone notices. Being a burden."
Fears for Portugal:
"That in 20 years, the Alentejo will be empty. Just ghost villages and solar panels. That everything my family built will become nothing."
Deepest fear (often unspoken):
"That I was wrong to stay. That my stubbornness kept my sons from having a father nearby. That this land isn't worth what I sacrificed."
"In Their Own Voice"
How he'd describe Portugal today:
"Two countries. The coast where everything happens, and the interior where everything disappears. They come here to photograph our villages like a museum, take pictures of old men like me, then drive back to their apartments with running water and hospitals nearby."
What he'd say to someone who disagrees with him politically:
"Easy to have opinions in Lisbon where everything works. Come live here a year. No bus, no doctor, no young people. Then tell me what you think about immigration quotas."
His message to politicians:
"Just once, come here without cameras. Stay a week. See how we live. Then maybe you'll understand why we're angry enough to vote for anyone who remembers we exist."
Scenario Response Predictions
| Candidate | Predicted Response | Key Trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Ventura | Positive | Speaks to abandonment; immigration concerns; anti-elite |
| Gouveia e Melo | Moderately Positive | Military discipline, order—respectable |
| Marques Mendes | Neutral | Same old PSD that forgot interior |
| Seguro | Negative | PS abandoned us; Lisbon party |
| Catarina Martins | Negative | "City people with city ideas" |
| Cotrim Figueiredo | Negative | "For the rich" |
| António Filipe | Mixed | PCP roots in Alentejo; but party feels old |
Notes for Scenario Development
- The dying interior archetype—last generation on the land
- Complex relationship with immigrant workers (needs them, unsettled by change)
- Widower isolation and healthcare vulnerability
- Strong potential for "Day in the Future" vignettes—daily routines, seasonal cycles
- Could interact with: Nepali workers, sons via video call, surviving neighbors, young urban visitors
- Multiple scenario trajectories: sells land, dies on farm, new policies bring support