The Andorinhões Newswire

[Klo]

There are 5 major publications that follow politics and the news in the Andorinhões:

O Correio das Ilhas | The most read newspaper of the Andorinhões, its a right-wing leaning newspaper with a lot of populist columnists.

A Informação | The oldest newspaper of the Andorinhões, its a centre leaning newspaper.

A Coisa Pública | Political magazine that covers subjects in-depth, not really leaning toward an ideology.

RDA - Radiodifusão dos Andorinhões | The public broadcasting company of the Andorinhões, tends to cover subjects in the most neutral way to avoid any criticism. It has many divisions, news, sports, music, etc.

Notícias Rápidas | One of the most recent news service of the Andorinhões, provides headlines and flash news.

[Klo]

RDA notícias
13 de outubro de 2020

Presentation of the annual budget

Today, the Government of the Andorinhões presented its annual budget to the National Assembly. It is a budget very similar to the one presented last year, without any major change. The Government is keeping its budget cuts, despite more revenues, in the general administration of the State and even grants more money to other ministries.

Notable budget cuts are in the ministries of Public Administration, Finances and International Relations. The latter came as a surprise for many, since the Andorinhões has been trying to build up its international reputation abroad. The government mentioned that plans are in motion to have shared embassies in the future hence the prevision to cut spending.

The 2020-2021 State Budget

Other ministries had the chance to see substantially increased budgets, such as the ministries of Education, Health and the grand winner, the Ministry of Alimentation, Commerce and Industry. Wanting to rely less of imports and be more financially independent of international trade, the government will invest massively to upgrade its production in many fields and will try to attract foreign investments with financial measures. The ministries of Work and Employment and of Tourism are also seeing their budget being increased by more than 2 million escudos each.

Still, with all the money moving around, the government is still spending more than the actual revenues and will again have to contract a debt to guarantee the public services.

The motion to adopt the budget is on the floor of the National Assembly and should be approved in the upcoming days, after a full study by the Deputies.

[Klo]

RDA notícias
20 de outubro de 2020

Adoption of the annual budget

The 2020-2021 State Budget of the Andorinhões has been approved by a majority of Deputies of the National Assembly today in São João das Ilhas.

With 54 votes for, 18 votes against and 4 abstentions, the State Budget was supported by the members of Nós Andorinhianos, Alternativa Democrática and Partido Trabalhista Nacional and with the support of the Reunião Nacional dos Independentes. The opposition came from Coalizão Conservadora and Tradição Constitucionalista. The only abstentions came from Nova Opção Socialista and Grupo de Reformistas Republicanos.

— Begin quote from ____

The Government will continue to have the full support of my political party, as long as their propositions benefit the majority of the Andorinhense people.

• Alícia da Praia, Leader of the Nós Andorinhianos

— End quote

— Begin quote from ____

I couldn’t, in good conscience, vote for a Budget that is threatening the economy with the imposition of new taxes on our great entrepreneurs.

• Leo Sautor, Leader of the Coalizão Conservadora

— End quote

[Klo]

A Coisa Pública
19 de março de 2021

The end of the sprint

The second parliamentary recess has passed last week and this is normally a sign that the legislative agenda is going to enter into a sprint. Many bills are going to be put forward to a vote to become law before the end of the session. Since their election in 2017, the actual government has been quite efficient in maintaining their legislative pace and adopting the key bills in the second half of the legislative calendar. With one more recess in May and the end of the session in June, the government is planning to pass some key legislature, let’s take a look at some of them.

Projeto de Lei do Governo # 021

This is one of the key bill proposed by the Government of the Andorinhões which has yet to be pushed forward by Pamela Ovelhas, Speaker of the National Assembly. Not that the bill doesn’t have her full support, but because it is considered trivial by many Deputies, or at least considered to be less of a priority than many other bills on the floor. This bill, if enacted as law, would give more administrative powers to the Ministry of Public Administration by deregulating the process to award professional contracts. Rules had been put in place in the early days of the new Republic to prevent the corruption heavily present during the authoritarian regime. Many Deputies agree that the process should be more free and give more latitude to the Government but believe that other matters are more pressing.

Projeto de Lei da Maioria # 103

Such a bill deemed pressing is the PLM-103 which would start the process to develop a light rail service in the capital of the nation, São João das Ilhas. The opposition on the bill comes mostly from the Coalizão Conservadora (CC) especially on the matter that contracting a national debt for such a local project, especially on an island which voted massively for the Nós Andorinhense (NA) political party, is seen as a political gift rather than a project which is beneficial for the nation. The Alternativa Democrática (AD), a natural ally of the NA is considering voting for the project if instead the bill proposes a national infrastructure program to present reserved bus lanes in the major municipalities of the nation, instead of a single project in one locality. Salvador Dourado, Minister for Transportation and Infrastructures has deemed the project viable and a necessity for the nation and has the support of the Municipal Council of São João das Ilhas.

Projeto de Lei da Oposição # 087

Submitted by the Nova Opção Socialista (NOS), this bill has received mixed support from Deputies. It proposes to grant paid leave to workers who wishes to attend sessions of the Municipal Council in the municipality in which they reside. Considering that the only people who have the luxury to attend the sessions get to question the Councillors and pressure the Council toward their views tend to be people with better paying jobs and leaves out systematically certain people from having some political power. Although many Deputies have expressed their solidarity on the problem, many consider that the bill is way too large and opens ways for abuse and very little mechanisms to prevent these. This bill has been under review by all political parties and support is still too thin for the bill to become law. To this date, about only 9 Deputies have come forward to support the bill has it is, but that number may soon grow, if amendments are proposed.

Conclusion

Overall, this legislative session has been again a very interesting one and there are still many days to come to make it even more interesting. At least, it is for the political aficionados we are here at the A Coisa Pública!

[Klo]

RDA notícias
24 de abril de 2021

Reduction of the costs to acquire a passport

Today, Esperança Montanhas, minister of Citizenship and Immigration announced reduction of the costs to acquire an Andorinhean passport.

— Begin quote from ____

In an effort to promote cultural exchange and a democratization of travel, we are proud to announce a substantial reduction of the costs to acquire a passport for all Andorinhean citizens. We know that travel remains expensive for many of our citizens, we are working closely with our flag carrier LAA Air Andorinhões on the establishment of some cheaper travel options.

• Esperança Montanhas, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

— End quote

Originally at 16 000Æ (~145$ SHD) the passport will be reduced to 10 000Æ (~91$ SHD). This new measure will become effective on 1 May.

The Andorihense Passport

[Klo]

Notícias Rápidas
1 de maio de 2021

Dia dos Trabalhadores
Many parades and demonstration are planned in every major municipalities, avoid city centres.

National Assembly calendar changing?
Deputies will evaluate the possibility to extend the parliamentary calendar for one or two weeks.

Governor’s visit to Colheitas
Cristóvão de Carvalho will visit the Children’s Hospital in Colheitas and will inaugurate the new pavillon of the State Museum of Colheitas.

[Klo]

O Correio das Ilhas
15 de maio de 2021

A crônica de Paolo Freixo

The anti-vehicle agenda of Alvina Mosteiro

It has not even been one year since her election, and already the anti-vehicle agenda of Alvina Mosteiro is going forward. Have you seen her proposal for our capital city? Have you seen how many parking spaces and lanes have been removed from her plans?

Has anyone seen the plans for Maurício de Corvos Avenue? The plan is to take the actual configuration, 3 lanes in each direction and parking, to go with only one lane in each direction and not one single parking space! It’s already jammed up every day at rush hour, what is the administration thinking? They want to see people suffer.

The actual configuration

The planned configuration

Biking wins again!

Who is even biking to work? I love biking, don’t get me wrong, after work or during the weekend, taking a stroll along the beach is always welcomed. But I’m not going to start biking to work and start my day all sweaty and smelly and be all tired from my bike ride. Once again, the great bicycle lobby wins and influences our leaders into thinking that it is a suitable way to move.

Bus lanes?

Don’t get me wrong, I like buses, I think they are indeed efficient transportation means that is cheap and that students can afford while going to university. But dedicated bus lanes is a bit much. The advantage of buses is to be using the same roads as we do, there is absolutely nothing that justifies the dedication of vehicle lanes for a few buses at rush hour and then just a couple of buses every now and then while we are all sitting ducks in our cars.

If this a sign of things to come, I fear for our capital is going to lose some of its citizens who are going to move out of the city to enjoy the liberty of living in a place where they can go from A to B without spending more than 20 minutes sitting in their cars.

[Klo]

A Informação
7 de julho de 2021

LAA Air Andorinhões looking to replace aging fleet

With most of their fleet coming to the end of their lifespan, CAA Airlines Corporation of the Andorinhões, owner of the Andorinhean flag-carrier, is looking to replace the entirety of the fleet by the end of the year.

— Begin quote from ____

We have one of the oldest fleet in commercial aviation, we are not obtaining the tourism numbers we expected this year. We believe that by acquiring new planes, we would be able to be competitive and bring in more people to enjoy the majestic islands of the Andorinhões.

• Elissa da Espada, Spokesperson for CAA Airlines Corporation of the Andorinhões

— End quote

As co-owner of the airline, the Government of the Andorinhões is viewing the change with a good eye and reassures that the purchase or leasing or new planes is not going to be done with public funds.

— Begin quote from ____

The acquisition of the new planes is done from the acquisition fund set up within the administration of LAA Air Andorinhões and the private funds invested by CAA Airlines Corporation of the Andorinhões. There won’t be new dollars invested in the airline by the Government at this stage.

• Salvador Dourado, Minister of Transports and Infrastructures

— End quote

LAA Air Andorinhões Airtrain A310

[Klo]

RDA notícias
23 de julho de 2021

New Hector da Espada exhibit begins at São João Museum of Modern Art

The new exhibit will feature some of the most famous works by the painter as well as some exclusive pieces.

The center piece of the exhibit is of course going to be Sunday Afternoon painted in 1991 during what is considered the « golden age » of da Espada’s work.

Visitors have until 15 October 2021 to visit the exhibit.

Sunday Afternoon, Hector da Espada, 1991

[Klo]

A Coisa Pública
21 de augusto de 2021

Setting the foreign policy agenda of 2021-2022 | An interview with Bartolomeu Pinheiro, minister of International Relations

With the next political cycle starting in about a month, we begin a series of interviews with key members of government to get a glimpse of what is on their plate for the next political year. Today, we focus on Bartolomeu Pinheiro, minister of International Relations on what 2021-2022 will bring for the foreign policy of the Andorinhões.

A Coisa Pública
Good day minister and thank you for participating in this exercise. To begin, how would you describe this past political cycle for the foreign affairs of the Andorinhões?

Bartolomeu Pinheiro
Good day to you to and thanks for having me. To answer your question, I would say that I’m happy with the general state of our foreign policy. On the international stage, we believe that the Andorinhões is still making its way toward being recognized by more and more nations, even though there is sill a lot of work to do. Regionally has not been as eventful as we hoped but we have plans to change that. We have introduced some measures to bring in more tourists in the Andorinhões and more Andorinheans abroad, this will surely help our presence internationally.

A Coisa Pública
On the matter of regional activity, this has been one of the criticism of this administration on foreign policy, what are you going to do to change how the Andorinhões are perceived by our neighbours?

Bartolomeu Pinheiro
We have listened to the grievances of the Deputies and some experts on the matter of regional presence for the Andorinhões. I can tell you that we have the intent to bring forward, to the National Assembly, a bill that would authorize the government of the Andorinhões to seek membership of the United Nations of the Auroran Continent, the UNAC, and we hope that this bill can be moved fast so that we can apply for this membership as early as possible. This will come with an increase in the budget for the ministry of International Relations which will go toward this new membership but also to continue our work at the International Forum.

A Coisa Pública
You brought up the subject of the International Forum, there are reports that the actual Permanent Representative, Raimundo Castanha has not been participating much in the deliberations of the International Forum, do you still have confidence in his work ethic?

Bartolomeu Pinheiro
Of course, I have full confidence in the work of Raimundo Castanha, it’s going to be 2 years since his nomination to the position, he his a long time diplomat with a lot of experience. We have decided to take a more passive stance this year, hence why the presence of the Permanent Representative may not have been felt in the International Forum, but the debates are followed, the votes are thought and we receive periodic reports from the International Forum operations and we feel really glad with the work done by the Andorinhean mission. I have even mandated Mister Castanha to evaluate the possibility to join the Security Council during the next political cycle.

A Coisa Pública
But still, some people feel that you are only defending his work because he was your deputy during your 4 year tenure as Permanent Representative to the International Forum. Some experts have compared his reports and his work to your own during your mandate and there is a contrasting difference between your work and his work. Are you sure you are not letting your past professional relationship cloud your judgement on the matter?

Bartolomeu Pinheiro
I can assure you that the reports I made during my mandate at the International Forum and the reports made by Mister Castanha are of the same quality even though they may have a different style. Mister Castanha was helping me write those reports and I know that he is surrounded by a good deputy and a good team with our permanent mission. I would like to remind you that I’m not a politician, I’m only an administrator, it is not in my interest nor in the interest of our nation to appoint individuals who are not up for the task. It’s my credibility and the President’s credibility that is on the line with such appointments and believe me, if Mister Castanha was not up for the job, he would not be the one doing it.

A Coisa Pública
And now our last question, where do you see the foreign policy of the Andorinhões at the end of the political year in 2022?

Bartolomeu Pinheiro
If everything goes well, I think that in June 2022 we will be able to state that the Andorinhões is a member of the UNAC, a soon-to-be member of the Security Council of the International Forum and a participating nation on the world stage. That is what I’ll be working toward in the next political cycle.

A Coisa Pública
Thank you minister for your answers and for your participation.

[Klo]

Notícias Rápidas
14 de setembro de 2021

Pamela Ovelhas on the Opening Speech
She said to expect the legislative agenda to be demanding for the Deputies.

Meeting of the Coalizão Conservadora
Deputies will meet less than a week before the start of the session to prepare a strong opposition in the National Assembly.

Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Rafaelo Sousa hints that he may be candidate in the next gubernatorial election
With the gubernatorial elections in March 2022, Sousa has started a tour of the islands to meet with people and share his ideas for the future of the Andorinhões.

[Klo]

RDA notícias
22 de setembro de 2021

2021 Opening Speech

In her Opening Speech, delivered on Monday, Pamela Ovelhas has set the tone for the next legislative session of the National Assembly. The speech focused on three matters : well-being and poverty, transportation and tourism and international relations.

She asked the deputies to give the government the means necessary to bring an end to poverty in the Andorinhões, not only with funds but with regulations. She mentioned regulations in housing to facilitate access to property and affordable rents.

She also asked for a better funding in public transit, especially inter-island transit. She also brought forward in the National Assembly, the government’s demand to bring a light-rail service before the next General Election in 2023.

Finally, she officially proposed that the Deputies bring forward a motion to give assent to the government’s attempt to join the Security Council in the upcoming year.

[Klo]

Notícias Rápidas
4 de outubro de 2021

National Assembly approves PLG-002
The adopted-bill, proposed by the Government of the Andorinhões, mandates the Government to request membership status to the United Nations of the Auroran Continent.

Former President Almiro Cervejeiro announces his candidacy to become Governor
If elected, he would become the first former President to be elected Governor.

The Secretariat of Citizens Relations to become official with next budget
The budget was previously taken from the Secretariat of the Presidency.

[Klo]

Notícias Rápidas
12 de outubro de 2021

Presentation of the annual budget
The budget formalizes the Secretariat of Citizens Relations and provides major investments in Health, Education and Alimentation while mainly reducing the budget of the Governmental Administration.

Former Governor Patrícia Álvares denies claims that she wants to run in the 2022 election
« I would love to come back to public service, but not in this capacity. »

Ioan Pedreiro named to the UNAC Council
Pedreiro was head of delegation to the International Forum from 2017 to 2019.

[Klo]

Notícias Rápidas
12 de março de 2023

Pamela Ovelhas announces that she will not run in this year’s election
« Being the Speaker of the National Assembly has been a privilege. I will continue to serve the public, but in a different capacity. »
Alícia da Praia, current leader of the We Andorinheans party is set to be the Speaker nominee in the upcoming election.

Alvina Mosteiro, Mayor of São João das Ilhas turns down rumours that she will run in the upcoming legislative elections
« Being the mayor of our capital city is the greatest occupation I have ever had. I have no intention of leaving. There is still a lot of work to do, I want to continue to tackle the housing crisis we face and fight poverty in our wonderful city. »

Alexandre Caixas Museum to be inaugurated
The Alexandre Caixas Museum will be inaugurated in his hometown of Colheitas. Caixas is a renowned artist famous for being the designer of the actual flag of the Andorinhões.