Between fear and hope

There are votes that change governments. Others that change policies. But there are also votes that transform something deeper: the state of soul of a people.

Between fear and hope, each election carries with it a silent but powerful energy – a force of collective transformation. It is the moment when every citizen, with a simple gesture, says: I choose to believe that it is possible to do better.

The results do not always correspond to our ambitions. The paths are not always as clear as we wish. But vote is always an act of freedom, an exercise of responsibility and trust in the future. And that’s exactly what is at stake: the future.

During this campaign, much said, debated and promised. But in the end, it all comes down to an essential choice: between fear and hope.

The fear that everything is in the same. The fear of those who already have nothing to propose. The fear of who screams louder, but says very little. The fear of difference, of freedom, of commitment. The fear of a past that insists on returning disguised as novelty.

But there is also hope. The hope of continuing to build. To do more and better. The hope that believes in the potential of our country and the ability of each Portuguese – male or female – to live with dignity, dream louder and reach further.

My vote is a vote of hope with proof given. A hope that is reflected in the progress achieved in the urgencies of obstetrics, where the number of days with services closed fell halfway to 2024. It is not the end of the way, but it is proof that when you want it, there is way.

My vote is also for every woman who lives still today under the weight of fear, often within the own walls they should protect. For those facing violence, loneliness, invisibility. It is a vote for public policies that do not stay in the speech, but that protect, support and transform lives marked by domestic violence and the horror of silence.

Is a vote for real equality – not proclaimed in posters or slogans – But felt in his pocket, at work, access to health, parental license, leadership, representation. It is a vote for salary agreements that benefit doctors, nurses, teachers, judicial employees – so often women who support families, take care of children and work twice to be recognized half.

Voting in the democratic alliance is to vote in the future of women in Portugal. Not because they are women, but because they are citizens of full right: with talent, with courage, with vision. It is a vote that believes no one should be smaller than their own will to win.

Yes, to vote for AD is also to vote for female – not with empty speeches or bustling flags – but with results. Because true equality is not proclaimed: it is realized. This is why, in this election, I choose hope. L

MEP PSD