"O Salto Liberal" - Four Years Later
Setting: January 2030, Portugal under President João Cotrim Figueiredo
Context: Cotrim Figueiredo won the 2026 election against Ventura (55%-45%) in an unexpected outcome where his liberal reformism appealed to both center-right and center-left as "least bad" alternative. His presidency has emphasized economic competitiveness, deregulation, and social liberalism.
Key Changes by 2030:
- Presidential advocacy for market reforms, tax cuts, deregulation
- Social liberalism advanced: LGBTQ+ rights, secular state championed
- Natural overlap with AD government on economics
- Tech sector growth, some FDI increase
- Brain drain: some reversal among professionals, continued among others
- Housing: market solutions slow to deliver
- Left criticism: "neoliberal president" narrative
Personas Experiencing This Day:
- Fernando Pinto (Small Business) - Finally feeling represented
- Patrícia Fonseca (Swiss Emigrant) - Considering return
- Miguel Andrade (LGBTQ+ Young Person) - Social liberalism ally
- Paula Moreira (Northern Worker) - Labor flexibility fears
- Sofia Rodrigues (Graduate) - Competitiveness promise assessment
- Helena Fernandes (Elderly Widow) - Public services concerns
These vignettes are speculative narratives designed to make possible futures tangible. They represent scenarios, not predictions.