Agriculture has declined and services have soared. Successful industries are few. The Portuguese are poorer in relative terms, despite the millions from Brussels. "The long-term trend, for more than two decades, has been for us to become poorer and poorer in relation to the other states of the European Union (EU). The purchasing power of the Portuguese is now much lower than that of most other EU countries," says Nuno Palma, Professor of Economics at the University of Manchester. Half a century of democracy has not translated into prosperity, despite the millions the country has received from Brussels since joining the then EEC on June 12, 1985. In 1974, the year of the April 25 Revolution, agriculture and fisheries weighed 11% in the economy and today they are worth only 2%. The concentration in commerce and services went from 49% to 77%. Industry and construction have shrunk by half and are now worth 21% of GDP. What remains is the strength of footwear - the sector's exports have grown by 54,533.33% in value since 1974 - and textiles, the robustness of metalworking and Autoeuropa as a landmark for foreign investment. Estado Novo Ideological prejudices aside, the 50 years of democracy could hardly surpass the previous decades. "It was almost 30 years of uninterrupted expansion, in which the economy didn't just keep up with the more developed ones. Portugal was then one of the fastest growing countries in the world, along with Spain and the so-called Asian tigers," says Professor Luciano Amaral in his book "Economia Portuguesa". In his book "As causas do atraso português" (The causes of Portuguese backwardness), recently published in Portugal, Nuno Palma corroborates this idea: "The convergence with richer Europe that began in the early 1950s was interrupted for a decade after April 25," he stresses. Convergence was then resumed, but Nuno Valério recognizes that "the last quarter of the 20th century was much more dynamic than the first quarter of the 21st century". The result of the change in the profile of the economy is not without its critics, despite the success stories. "We may need state intervention and a (collective) strategy to guide it. And it can be said that, once decolonization and European integration have taken place, there has been too much short-term emergency. Perhaps the lessons of the pandemic and the demands of geostrategic conflicts and climate change will help to overcome this," says Nuno Valério, a professor at ISEG and a specialist in the history and theory of economic development. But what happened to the millions in European funds? The number of kilometers of freeways today is 47 times what it was in 1974. This is a visible effect. The money received from Brussels represents around 3% of GDP per year since joining the EEC, the equivalent of two Autoeuropas a year. The problem of gold from Brazil, which flowed to Portugal in large quantities in the 18th century and did not develop the metropolis, is repeated. "The people need to feel the consequences of bad governance in their pockets (...). European aid is an aspirin or a band-aid," reads Nuno Palma's book. The Manchester-based academic even advocates abolishing the funds to expose the wrong choices made by the political class and predicts that Portugal could be the poorest country in the EU within a decade. Nuno Valério's view differs from Nuno Palma's: "I don't agree with the main thrust of the argument, although I'm far from thinking that the funds have always been used well". Miguel St. Aubyn, a professor at ISEG, believes that "the possible lack of vision and strategy on the part of the political class lies in the fact that the country has failed to take advantage of opportunities, and European funds are only part of the problem". Major crises in democracy 1983-85 In 1979, the global economy suffered an oil shock and the crisis in Portugal manifested itself in the following years. The government asked the IMF for help (1983-1985), as it had done in 1977-78. 1992-93 In 1990, the first Gulf War broke out, with Iraq invading Kuwait, leading to an armed intervention led by the USA. Portugal felt the recession in the following years. 2002-03 The country had joined the euro in 1999. It was a time of cheap money for both families and the state. The debt skyrocketed and Durão Barroso, elected Prime Minister, said that "the country is on its knees". 2008-09 The international financial crisis originated in the USA, with problems with housing loans. Unemployment soared, credit became more expensive and the economy ground to a halt. 2010-14 This became known as the public debt crisis and Portugal was not immune. The troika's intervention (2011-2014) left its mark and bad memories. 2020-21 The crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic was worldwide. Tourism became almost impractical and so did Europe-Asia trade. Economies contracted. Challenges for the future Instead of just reflecting on the past, Miguel St. Aubyn, professor at ISEG and member of the Public Finance Council, identifies six challenges for the next 50 years. More and better investment In order to grow sustainably and for Portugal to converge in productivity and per capita income, investment must increase and be of better quality. This is as true in the public sector and infrastructures as it is in the private economy. We need investments that are structural, diversified, based on knowledge and skilled labor, and conducive to an effective energy and environmental transition. Less inequality We are still a profoundly unequal country and we have some difficulty facing up to this fact. Inequality is not only an injustice, it is also an economic waste. Reducing it as a clearly identified objective has implications for the design of public policies as a whole. Better housing Housing conditions are poor. Responses to this problem should have started yesterday, and being urgent it takes time for the effects to be felt. Market failures lead to the need for public intervention in supply, regulation and incentives. Attracting and retaining qualified young people Despite attracting a new, immigrant population who are looking for a better life here, the truth is that many young, qualified Portuguese end up looking for and finding more rewarding jobs in foreign countries, namely in the European Union, the UK or the US. Along with a declining birth rate and increasing life expectancy, the population is gradually ageing. Qualifying to grow and innovate Tourism and related activities have been an important driving force in the Portuguese economy. For other sectors to develop, sectors in which productivity gains resulting from technological innovation are more significant, it is important that the working population is increasingly qualified, open and capable of innovation. Reforming the State Reforming the ageing public administration is one of the major challenges of the coming years. It will involve reorienting the focus of policies from the short to the medium and long term and the necessary systematic evaluation. The implementation of a system for reviewing expenditure, and also taxation, can be extremely important in increasing efficiency and therefore expanding budgetary space to meet new challenges (environmental transition or strengthening the NHS). Portuguese footwear is the image of a modern country and a highly productive sector Pedro Araújo