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2019 in Portugal

Events in the year 2019 in Portugal.

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See also:List of years in Portugal

Incumbents

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Events

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January

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  • 8 January – Funding worth €1.15 billion for both an expansion of Lisbon Airport and the construction of a second airport in Montijo is agreed to by the government and French company Vinci SGEF.PA. The plans for the new airport, which seek to increase capacity for the growing tourism industry, are opposed by environmental campaigners over the ecological value of the proposed Montijo site.[1]
  • 10 January – A programme investing €10 billion into infrastructure works by 2030 is approved by the government. Transport projects will receive a majority of the funding with €6 billion earmarked for plans such as improvements to the Lisbon–Porto railway link.[2]
  • 16 January:
    • Police intercept 430 kilograms of cocaine hidden within a shipment of bananas in Leixões after receiving a tip-off from the Spanish authorities. The seized cocaine was en route to Spain from Latin America and is estimated to have a street value of approximately €15 million.[3]
    • A Portuguese man, named as Rui Pinto by Portuguese media, is detained in Hungary on charges of extortion after hacking the emails of football clubs F.C. Porto, S.L. Benfica, and Sporting CP. Details from the hacked emails later appear on the website Football Leaks.[4] Pinto's lawyers later confirm his identity as the arrested man.[5]

February

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  • 4 February – Portugal joins fifteen other European governments in recognising Juan Guaido as the acting president of Venezuela in the country's leadership dispute.[6]
  • 14 February – Figures released by the Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE) show that the number of tourists visiting Portugal in 2018 was the highest on record at 12.8 million.[7]

March

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  • 7 March – In response to the deaths of twelve women to domestic violence since the beginning of the year, the highest number in Portugal for a decade, a national day of mourning is held with flags being flown at half-mast and the Assembly observing a minute's silence.[8]
  • 8 March – Between 6,000 and 10,000 people march in Lisbon demanding improvements in pay and working conditions for nurses.[9]
  • 26 March – Data from the INE reveals that the government's budget deficit fell to 0.5% of gross domestic product in 2018, the lowest recorded since the Carnation Revolution in 1974.[10]
  • 28–29 March – A series of wildfires break out in the north of the country after a spell of unseasonably warm and dry weather. There are no reports of any injuries.[11]

April

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  • 4 April – Amid increasing criticism of nepotism within the government, Secretary of State for the Environment Carlos Martins resigns after the appointment of his cousin as his assistant becomes public.[12]
  • 15–18 April – Drivers of fuel-tankers strike over pay and working conditions, agreeing only to deliver supplies to critical infrastructure as part of a legal minimum service requirement. Despite government requests motorists form long queues at petrol stations across the country, thousands of which run completely dry.[13] The strike ends on 18 April after the drivers' employers agree to hold talks the following month.[14]
  • 17 April – At least 29 people are killed and a further 27 are injured in a bus crash on the island of Madeira.[15]
  • 24 April – Shareholders of utilities company Energias de Portugal, the largest business in the country, reject a €9 billion buy-out bid by the Chinese energy company China Three Gorges.[16]

May

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  • 9 May – The Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests confirms that sightings made earlier in the year of a brown bear in the northeastern Montesinho Natural Park constitute the first presence of the species on Portuguese territory in more than 100 years. Though numerous in neighbouring Spain, brown bears have been extinct in Portugal since the mid-19th century.[17]
  • 10 May – A bill to financially compensate teachers for a series of wage freezes over the past ten years is opposed by MPs after Prime Minister António Costa threatens to resign his government and call an early general election if passed. Forecast to cost at least €600 million, Costa argues that approval of the bill would have constituted an unacceptable divergence from the government's economic objectives.[18]
  • 18 May – In association football, Benfica secure the 2018-19 Primeira Liga title with a 4–1 victory over C.D. Santa Clara, becoming Portuguese football league champions for the 37th time.[19]
  • 20 May – Eight police officers are convicted of the kidnapping and assault of six men in an Amadora police station in 2015, the highest number of police officers found guilty in such a case in Portugal.[20]
  • 26 May – European Parliament election: The Socialist Party wins the highest proportion of the vote with 35.9%, securing nine of Portugal's twenty-one seats in the European Parliament. The Social Democratic Party finishes second with six seats and 23.6% of the vote. The remaining seats are won by the Left Bloc, the Unitary Democratic Coalition, the CDS – People's Party, and People–Animals–Nature.[21] The result is seen as bolstering the chances of Prime Minister António Costa winning an overall majority in October's general election and represents the worst result for the Social Democratic Party in a national election.[22]

June

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July

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7 July: The Palace of Mafra is awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status
  • 7 July – UNESCO announces the addition of the Palace of Mafra and the Bom Jesus do Monte to its list of World Heritage Sites, bringing the total number of sites in Portugal to seventeen.[28]
  • 16 July – Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva announces that the government will provisionally withhold from issuing entry visas to citizens of Iran for undisclosed security reasons. Santos Silva also confirms that the move is not a response to any deterioration of Portuguese–Iranian relations.[29]
  • 20 July – A series of wildfires break out in the Castelo Branco district, injuring at least 20 people. More than 1,800 firefighters are sent to attempt to contain the outbreak.[30]
  • 30 July – The government seizes a series of more than 900 artworks belonging to businessman José Berardo, who had pledged the collection as a guarantee of debt repayments to the state totalling some €1 billion. The paintings, which include works by Joan Miró and Piet Mondrian, have been publicly exhibited in Lisbon's museums since 2006.[31]

August

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  • 9 August – In anticipation of a second strike by drivers of fuel-tankers, the government declares an energy crisis to maintain supplies to critical infrastructure such as hospitals and airports. It also announces rationing of petrol and diesel lasting from 10 August until 21 August, restricting motorists to a maximum of 15 litres of fuel.[32]
  • 11 August – In cycling, João Rodrigues wins the 2019 Volta a Portugal in a time of 40 hours, 57 minutes, and 4 seconds.[33]
  • 12–16 August – Fuel-tanker drivers strike for the second time this year over pay and working conditions. In their absence police officers and soldiers are drafted in to help maintain supplies to key sectors. Fourteen striking drivers are meanwhile cited by the government for flouting a decree mandating their co-operation in deliveries to hospitals and other critical infrastructure.[34] After five days the fuel-tanker drivers agree to end their strike on 16 August and enter negotiations.[35]

September

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October

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2 October: Hurricane Lorenzo passes near the Azores at Category 1 strength
  • 2 October – Hurricane Lorenzo passes near the western Azores, bringing strong winds to much of the archipelago and severely damaging the main port on Flores. There are no reports of any injuries.[41]
  • 6 October – Legislative election: The Socialist Party of Prime Minister António Costa wins 106 seats to remain the largest party in the Assembly, taking 36.7% of votes ahead of the Social Democratic Party on 29.7%. Short by an overall majority of ten seats, Costa announces negotiations to continue his party's alliance with the Left Bloc and the Portuguese Communist Party for another term.[42] Chega meanwhile becomes the first far-right party to win a seat in the Assembly since the Carnation Revolution.[43] Turnout falls to 54.5%, the lowest for a general election since Portugal's return to democracy in 1974.[42]
  • 22 October – The Ordem dos Médicos suspends obstetrician Artur Carvalho over claims of negligent conduct after failing to detect severe fetal abnormalities in a boy born on 7 October in Setúbal.[44] Further cases of similar negligence by Carvalho spanning more than 10 years subsequently emerge, prompting media debates over procedures within the national health care system.[45]

November

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  • 13 November – Prime Minister António Costa unveils government plans to raise the monthly minimum wage from €600 to €635 on 1 January 2020 as part of a pledge to reach €750 by 2023.[46]

December

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  • 5 December – Government officials confirm that Chinese technology company Huawei will not be prevented from helping to develop the nation's 5G wireless network. The decision comes amid warnings to European nations from United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the risk of Huawei passing critical and confidential data onto the Chinese government.[47]
  • 19–20 December – Two people are killed and 50 are made homeless in Porto as Storm Elsa passes over the country, bringing severe rainfall and flooding.[48] The weather causes disruption to ferry services across the Tagus and to train services between Lisbon and Porto, the latter of which are temporarily halted until 22 December.[49]

Ongoing events

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A ceramic azulejo panel commemorating the first circumnavigation of the world

Anniversaries

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Deaths

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Teotónio de Souza in 2009
 
Roberto Leal in 2010

January to March

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April to June

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July to September

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October to December

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Argentina Santos (left) in 2007

See also

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Wikinews has related news:

References

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  1. ^ White, Sarah; Bugge, Axel (8 January 2019). "Vinci to fund Lisbon airport projects as Portuguese tourism booms". Reuters. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  2. ^ Ames, Paul (10 January 2019). "Portugal splashes the cash ahead of elections". Politico. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Portuguese police intercept cocaine shipment to Spain". Associated Press News. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Football Leaks: 'Suspected hacker' detained in Hungary". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  5. ^ Demony, Catarina; Almeida, Goncalo (23 January 2019). Nick Tattersall; Jon Boyle (eds.). "Arrested Portuguese hacker is Football Leaks 'whistleblower': lawyers". Reuters. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  6. ^ Goodman, Joshua; Hatton, Barry (4 February 2019). "EU nations endorse Venezuela opposition leader over Maduro". Associated Press News. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  7. ^ Demony, Catarina; Almeida, Goncalo (14 February 2019). Andrei Khalip; Kirsten Donovan (eds.). "Portugal tourism growth slows sharply in 2018, still ekes out record". Reuters. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  8. ^ Demony, Catarina; Almeida, Goncarlo (7 March 2019). Axel Brugge (ed.). "Portugal's parliament falls silent to remember domestic violence victims". Reuters. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  9. ^ Demony, Catarina; Pereira, Miguel; Khalip, Andrei (8 March 2019). Hugh Lawson (ed.). "Portuguese nurses' 'white march' protest takes over Lisbon streets". Reuters. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  10. ^ Wise, Peter (26 March 2019). "Portugal posts lowest budget deficit in 45 years of democracy". Financial Times. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  11. ^ Demony, Catarina; Marchante, Rafael (29 March 2019). Axel Bugge; Peter Graff (eds.). "Wildfires blaze across unseasonably hot, dry Portugal". Reuters. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Senior official quits in Portuguese family ties controversy". Associated Press News. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Fuel shortages across Portugal amid hauliers' strike". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Portuguese truckers end strike that caused gas shortages". ABC News. Associated Press. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Madeira crash: At least 29 killed on tourist bus near Caniço". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Shareholders block China's €9bn bid for Energias de Portugal". EURACTIV. Agence France-Presse. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
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  25. ^ Wallace, Sam (9 June 2019). "Portugal win Nations League with Goncalo Guedes strike enough to beat Holland". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
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  33. ^ "João Rodrigues vence Volta a Portugal" [João Rodrigues wins the Volta a Portugal]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Lusa News Agency. 11 August 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
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  36. ^ "Portugal introduces law combating cigarette butts thrower in public". Xinhua News Agency. 4 September 2019. Archived from the original on September 8, 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  37. ^ Khalip, Andrei (5 September 2019). Catherine Evans (ed.). "Firefighting helicopter crashes in Portugal, pilot killed". Reuters. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  38. ^ "Portuguese MPs denounce museum dedicated to dictator Salazar". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  39. ^ Ames, Paul (23 September 2019). "Portugal's Costa gets Madeira boost ahead of election". Politico. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  40. ^ Rosa, Luís (26 September 2019). "Azeredo Lopes acusado de 4 crimes: denegação de justiça, prevaricação, abuso de poder e favorecimento". Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  41. ^ Hatton, Barry (2 October 2019). "Hurricane Lorenzo batters mid-Atlantic Azores Islands". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  42. ^ a b Henley, Jon (7 October 2019). "Portugal election: Socialists retain power with increased share of the vote". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  43. ^ Ramiro, Joana (9 October 2019). "Why the left is continuing to win in Portugal". New Statesman. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  44. ^ Galha, Lucília (23 October 2019). "Quem são os médicos que suspenderam Artur Carvalho?" [Who are the doctors who suspended Artur Carvalho?]. Sabado (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  45. ^ "Portuguese doctor suspended after baby born without a face". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  46. ^ Demony, Catarina; Vicente Rua, Patricia; Waldersee, Victoria (13 November 2019). Andrew Cawthorne (ed.). "Portugal to raise minimum wage to 635 euros, still lowest in western Europe". Reuters. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  47. ^ Hatton, Barry; Chan, Kelvin (5 December 2019). "Portugal resists US appeal to bar Huawei from 5G network". Associated Press News. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  48. ^ Bellamy, David (21 December 2019). "Eight killed as storm Elsa batters southern Europe". Euronews. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  49. ^ Minder, Raphael; Magra, Iliana (22 December 2019). "Severe Weather Across Europe Leaves at Least 9 Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  50. ^ Minder, Raphael (20 September 2019). "Who First Circled the Globe? Not Magellan, Spain Wants You to Know". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  51. ^ "Descobrimento das Ilhas da Madeira e Porto Santo". Arquivo Nacional Torre de Tombo (in Portuguese). July 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  52. ^ Mozos, José Pedro (6 May 2020). "Morreu Francisco Oliveira Dias, aos 88 anos". Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 14 January 2019.
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  54. ^ "Morreu o ator Octávio Matos". Observador (in Portuguese). 3 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  55. ^ Tavares, Pedro Sousa (10 February 2019). "Morreu Fernando Peres, campeão no Sporting e no Brasil". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  56. ^ Góes, José Cristian (3 April 2019). "Todas homenagens ao professor doutor Teotónio R. de Souza (1947-2019)". A Pátria (in Portuguese). Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  57. ^ Viterbo Dias, Miguel (22 February 2019). "Morreu Sequeira Costa, pianista "sem décadas nem séculos"". Observador (in Portuguese). Lusa News Agency. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
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  59. ^ Brito, Alexandre (12 April 2019). "Morreu a cantora Dina". RTP Notícias (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  60. ^ Almeida, Sérgio (15 April 2019). "Morreu Maria Alberta Menéres, uma fazedora de sonhos". Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  61. ^ Nadais, Inês; Cardoso, Joana Amaral; Canelas, Lucinda; Coutinho, Isabel (3 June 2019). "Morreu Agustina Bessa-Luís, o nosso grande "mistério literário"". Publico (in Portuguese). Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  62. ^ Sá Lopes, Ana (2 July 2019). "Morreu Manuel Costa Braz, militar de Abril. "Nunca ocupou lugares de ribalta, mas foi essencial", diz Marcelo". Publico (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  63. ^ Vaz Pinto, Diogo (6 July 2019). "António Hespanha (1945-2019). O estudante eterno". Jornal i (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  64. ^ Oliveira, Ivo (18 July 2019). "MEP André Bradford dies after suffering cardiac arrest". Politico. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  65. ^ Fernandes, Filipe; Carregueiro, Nuno (16 August 2019). "Morreu Alexandre Soares dos Santos". Jornal de Negocios (in Portuguese). Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  66. ^ "Aos 67 anos, morre o cantor português Roberto Leal". O Globo (in Portuguese). 15 September 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  67. ^ "Diogo Freitas do Amaral, 78, Dies; Pillar of Democracy in Portugal". The New York Times. Associated Press. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  68. ^ "Morreu o ex-autarca de Marco de Canaveses Avelino Ferreira Torres". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 8 October 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  69. ^ "Morreu Teresa Tarouca". Expresso (in Portuguese). Lusa News Agency. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  70. ^ "Morreu Argentina Santos, a fadista da Parreirinha de Alfama que pisou palcos internacionais". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Lusa News Agency. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  71. ^ Amaral Cardoso, Joanna; Canelas, Lucinda; Barreiros, Maria Paula (19 November 2019). "Morreu José Mário Branco, um dos nomes maiores da canção portuguesa". Publico (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  72. ^ "Morreu o psicanalista Carlos Amaral Dias". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Lusa News Agency. 3 December 2019.
  73. ^ Cipriano, Rita (17 December 2019). "Morreu Fernando Lemos, o artista completo que deixou Portugal para escapar à ditadura". Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 21 February 2021.
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