Portuguese American Journal

Portuguese American Journal

Featured Stories
Honor | Maria João Pires receives 2025 Helena Vaz da Silva European Award Opinion | Prime Minister Luís Montenegro meets President Xi Jinping Book | After the Carnations | By Daniela F. Melo Diplomacy | Prime Minister Luís Montenegro holds phone call with President Donald Trump Diplomacy | Rita Rico takes office as new United States Consul
 

Honor | Maria João Pires receives 2025 Helena Vaz da Silva European Award – Portugal

Pianist Maria João Pires, one of Portugal’s most distinguished cultural figures, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Helena Vaz da Silva European Award for Raising Public Awareness on Cultural Heritage. Presented annually by Europa Nostra, in collaboration with the Centro Nacional de Cultura and Clube Português de Imprensa, the award recognizes individuals who, […]

Opinion | Prime Minister Luís Montenegro meets President Xi Jinping – China

By Len Port Portugal’s Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, met with China’s President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday and urged him to use his influence on Russia’s Vladimir Putin to help bring about peace in Ukraine. Luís Montenegro is the first Portuguese government leader to visit Beijing in nearly a decade. His visit came just […]

Book | After the Carnations | By Daniela F. Melo & Paul C. Manuel – Editor’s Note

The Portuguese revolution of April 25, 1974, has drawn much well-deserved scholarly attention: it offers an innovative example of a leftist military-led revolutionary process that unexpectedly resulted in the transition to a West European-style social democracy. Although much of the existing scholarship has logically focused on the emerging political elites and institutions of the period, […]

Diplomacy | Prime Minister Luís Montenegro holds phone call with President Donald Trump – Portugal

Portugal’s Prime Minister Luís Montenegro held a phone call today with U.S. President Donald Trump, reaffirming Portugal’s commitment to strengthening the long-standing ties between the two nations. During the conversation, both leaders discussed expanding cooperation across economic, political, and cultural areas, underscoring the shared values and strategic partnership that unite Portugal and the United States. […]

Diplomacy | Rita Rico takes office as new United States Consul – Azores

Rita Rico has officially assumed her post as the new United States Consul in the Azores. She replaces Margaret Campbell, who served as Principal Officer for the U.S. Consulate in Ponta Delgada from 2022 to July 2025. She was formally welcomed by the President of the Regional Government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolieiro, during […]

2020: Portugal dropped in the Index of Democracy – The Economist

05 February 2021

Portugal has dropped in the Index of Democracy compiled annually by The Economist magazine, to be no longer a “fully democratic country,” back to being in the category of a “flawed democracy.” The main reasons for the drop, result from restrictions in civil liberties imposed by the COVID’19 pandemic and a reduction on active parliamentary […]

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Posted in Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Featured, Guiné-Bissau, Heritage, Mozambique, Organizations, Politics, Portugal, São Tomé and Prince, World

Poetry: True North with Sam Pereira – Interview

02 February 2021

By Millicent Borges Accardi Raised in Los Banos, California, Portuguese-American writer Sam Pereira has published six books, most recently, True North and Untrue You (Nine Mile 2020), a poetry collection which David St John (author of The Last Troubadour: New and Selected Poems) states is “uniquely American. . . as if Lenny Bruce had written songs […]

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Posted in Arts&Culture, Azores, Books, Community, Education, Featured, Heritage, Interviews, People, Portugal, World

Portugal: Pandemic is causing mental health havoc – by Len Port

01 February 2021

Mental health issues are festering on the sidelines of the constant news reports about COVID’19 infection and death rates, strict lockdown measures, the economic slump and vaccination plans.   As is the case globally, a great many citizens in Portugal have to cope with Covid-related stress, anxiety, loneliness, fear, depression, anger or worse.  Other symptoms include […]

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Posted in Azores, Featured, Heritage, Madeira, Portugal

Euthanasia: Lawmakers vote in favor of medically assisted suicide – Portugal

30 January 2021

Portugal Parliament voted overwhelming, on Friday, 136-78 with four abstentions, in favor of euthanasia, allowing doctors to medically assist patients to commit suicide through lethal drugs. Although President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, with 20 days to deliberate, has the power to approve, veto or send the law to the Constitutional Court for review, Parliament can […]

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Posted in Azores, Featured, Heritage, Madeira, Organizations, People, Politics, Portugal, World

Corruption: Portugal dropped three places in the 2020 Corruption Perception Index – Transparency International

28 January 2021

Portugal dropped three places, to 33rd place with 61 points, in the 2020 Corruption Perception Index report, published on Thursday, by Transparency International. With the lowest score ever, Portugal is now “well below the average figures for Western Europe and the European Union, set at 66 points,” it was reported. Transparency International (TI), a non-governmental […]

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Posted in Azores, Featured, Heritage, Madeira, Organizations, People, Politics, Portugal, World

Book: ‘Slave Trade and Abolition: Gender, Commerce’ by Vanessa S. Oliveira – Editor’s Note

26 January 2021

Well into the early nineteenth century, Luanda, the administrative capital of Portuguese Angola, was one of the most influential ports for the transatlantic slave trade. Between 1801 and 1850, it served as the point of embarkation for more than 535,000 enslaved Africans. In the history of this diverse, wealthy city, the gendered dynamics of the […]

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Posted in Angola, Arts&Culture, Azores, Books, Brazil, Cape Verde, Featured, Guiné-Bissau, Heritage, Madeira, Mozambique, People, Portugal, São Tomé and Prince, World