Portugal on the periphery of the centre: social change, 1960 to 1995

Abstract

Portugal has evolved very rapidly during the last three and a half decades. This can be observed particularly in demography, social behaviour, and expectations. From the nineteen-sixties Portuguese society was approaching the demographic, social, and cultural standards prevailing in other European countries, and this trend quickened after the founding of democracy (1974-1976), and after Portugal joined the European Community (1985). Portugal started to be a plural and open society. At the same time, with the unification of the market and of the «national system», and with «deruralization», traditional regional dualisms were considerably diluted, and are now more social and economic. There has not yet been a development of the economy and productive structures to correspond to the rapid social and cultural evolution and to increased expectations. Portugal belongs to the most important economic and political centre (Western Europe and the North Atlantic), but is its most peripheral country. This creates a natural imbalance between limited capacity and unlimited expectations.