Cristina Alves Duarte
Top Concerns
Rent/housing
"€650 for this apartment is killing me. One rent increase and we're homeless."
Children's needs
"Sara needs braces. Miguel needs tutoring. I can't afford either."
No child support
"€15,000 owed, zero received. The system doesn't work."
Exhaustion
"I'm 39 and feel 60. When do I get to rest?"
Children's future
"Will they end up like me? Or worse?"
Background
Cristina got pregnant at 27 with a man who promised everything and delivered nothing. When she got pregnant again at 30, he disappeared—to Brazil, she heard, though no one knows for sure. She's raised Sara and Miguel alone for nine years, working full-time at Continente while her mother watches the kids.
Her routine is military: up at 5:30, prepare breakfast, drop kids at school, arrive by 8:00, work until 5:00 or 6:00 (whenever the shift ends), pick up kids, homework, dinner, bed, repeat. Weekends are cleaning, shopping, catching up on sleep. There's no time for herself, no money for extras, no partner to share the load.
She earns €820/month—minimum wage, now risen to what seemed like a good salary ten years ago. Rent takes €650. The math doesn't work, but somehow she makes it work—her mother helps with food, she knows every discount, she hasn't bought clothes for herself in three years.
Her ex owes €15,000 in child support. The courts move slowly. Brazil doesn't cooperate. Meanwhile, she pays for everything alone.
Economic Situation
Income level
Low (€820/month + €150 family support)
Income source
Minimum wage employment
Financial stress
Severe
Housing burden
67%
Trajectory
Trapped—can't earn more, can't spend less
In Their Own Voice
"I work 40 hours a week at minimum wage, and 67% goes to rent. I don't ask for luxury—just to raise my kids without constant fear. But landlords can charge whatever they want, my ex pays nothing, and the state says 'be patient.' Patient? I've been patient for nine years."
— On Portugal
"You talk about families. Come live on €820 with two children and €650 rent. Then tell me about families. Make the father pay what he owes. Cap the rent. Let me breathe."
— To Politicians
Hopes
For themselves
herself
"I just want to stop worrying. One month without calculating if I can afford food. One week off. A day when nothing breaks."
her children
"I want them to go to university. Have choices. Never feel this desperate. Never know how close we came to losing everything."
Personal fears
"Losing the apartment. Getting sick and not being able to work. The kids knowing how bad things really are."
What she'd say to someone who disagrees with her politically
"I don't have time for politics. I have two kids, one job, and not enough money. If you want my vote, make rent possible and enforce child support. Everything else is noise."
Her message to politicians
"You talk about families. Come live on €820 with two children and €650 rent. Then tell me about families. Make the father pay what he owes. Cap the rent. Let me breathe."
For Portugal
Portugal
"A country where working full-time means you can raise your kids without drowning. Where child support gets enforced. Where rent doesn't eat everything."
Fears for Portugal
"That it gets worse. That rent keeps rising. That there's no safety net when I fall."
How she'd describe Portugal today
"I work 40 hours a week at minimum wage, and 67% goes to rent. I don't ask for luxury—just to raise my kids without constant fear. But landlords can charge whatever they want, my ex pays nothing, and the state says 'be patient.' Patient? I've been patient for nine years."
Fears
For themselves
Personal fears
"Losing the apartment. Getting sick and not being able to work. The kids knowing how bad things really are."
Her message to politicians
"You talk about families. Come live on €820 with two children and €650 rent. Then tell me about families. Make the father pay what he owes. Cap the rent. Let me breathe."
For Portugal
Fears for Portugal
"That it gets worse. That rent keeps rising. That there's no safety net when I fall."
How she'd describe Portugal today
"I work 40 hours a week at minimum wage, and 67% goes to rent. I don't ask for luxury—just to raise my kids without constant fear. But landlords can charge whatever they want, my ex pays nothing, and the state says 'be patient.' Patient? I've been patient for nine years."
What she'd say to someone who disagrees with her politically
"I don't have time for politics. I have two kids, one job, and not enough money. If you want my vote, make rent possible and enforce child support. Everything else is noise."
Candidate Reactions
How this person would react to each candidate winning
PS (center-left)
António José Seguro
Key trigger: "PS raised minimum wage"
Bloco de Esquerda (left)
Catarina Martins
Key trigger: "She talks about housing"
PCP (Communist Party)
António Filipe
Key trigger: "Says wage things"
Chega (far-right)
André Ventura
Key trigger: "Too aggressive; doesn't talk about my problems"
Independent ("My party is Portugal")
Henrique Gouveia e Melo
Key trigger: "Don't know him"
PSD/CDS backing (center-right)
Luís Marques Mendes
Key trigger: "Don't know him"
Iniciativa Liberal
João Cotrim Figueiredo
Key trigger: "Probably wants to cut support"
Information Sources
Where they get their information
community
High TrustMother, coworkers, school parents
online
Medium TrustFacebook (rarely), WhatsApp
social media
High TrustWhatsApp (family, school parents)
tv
Medium TrustSIC, TVI (background while doing chores)
Voting History
Past electoral choices and patterns
Low engagement, PS when votes
PS
"Minimum wage increase"
PS
"Slightly better for families"
Didn't vote
"Couldn't get time off"