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THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
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elites needed to reorganise a state, an economy
and a society, in which fruits that were sown by
the revolution of 25th April 1974 still continue
to live on. The right wing and the economic
elites, unable to obtain a mandate for this reor-
ganisation democratically through the ballot
box, took advantage as best they could of the
opportunity created by the state of emergency.
The rescue did not solve any of the struc-
tural problems of the Portuguese economy and
society, nor its indebtedness. It impoverished
the country and the Portuguese, destabilised
employment, worsened the inequalities, pushed
young people into emigrating. These are the
most visible results of the troika’s programme.
But in reality, beyond the more visible wounds,
there are other, deeper ones, such as despair, a
lack of trust in the feasibility of alternatives,
growing suspicion of politicians and politics,
which are perhaps even more corrosive and dif-
ficult to cure.