Mr. Fonseca agrees with Prime Minister Passo Coelho in the sense that the austerity measures are mostly hampering Portugal’s way out of the crisis; “The austerity measures are not creating any growth, employment… So far, we cannot see that any visionary plan aiming at taking us out the crisis is put in place. On the contrary, these measures have a huge negative impact on Portugal. The country is losing young and educated people. Black market activities are dangerously rising, worsening even more the finances of the state.” 

According to Mr. Fonseca, this crisis is not only an economic one but also an ethical crisis. “Politicians have no control over the market. They are trapped by the market. This situation challenges everything, even justice. The powerful and rich are better defended than the man in the street. Thus, there are no fingers pointing to those responsible for the crisis. There is neither transparency nor accountability. No one has been brought to court for their share of responsibility for this crisis and for destroying the life of millions of people. And at the same time, our law-makers the general population to tighten their belt while their own are still well loose.”

When asked about the future, Mr. Fonseca is not very optimistic; “The general feeling in Portugal is rather pessimistic. Many middle age people, who have lost their jobs during the crisis, now fear that they might never get back to the labour market. In other words, they might be condemned to live on permanent assistance from social institutions like Caritas.”

Fortunately, Mr. Fonseca also sees opportunities in this crisis: “There are ways out of this situation! And Caritas can be one of them. The network must strengthen its identity and mission, and seize this time of crisis to empower the most vulnerable people!”