A healthy reformist spirit

Democracy asserts itself through its ability to respond to the values ​​and interests of citizens who are free and equal in dignity and rights. Reformism does not mean succumbing to the temptation to build a society conceived in the mind of Jupiter, but rather understanding the importance of the gradualist method, based on the determined will to improve. As a rule of law, society must be based on the rule of law, the legitimacy of voting, the separation of powers, the exercise of the common good, and justice as a value horizon.

Reforms are necessary and must be based on trust and cohesion. Therefore, more than sudden movements or spectacular gestures, they require persistent work that allows for long-term vision, preventing electoral cycles from being characterized by isolated gestures, hesitations, and reversible changes. Major reforms are sustainable and subject to constant refinement, and should not be subject to reductive or economic logic.

For an ancient state like Portugal, extra care must be taken, recalling the lesson of chronicler Diogo do Couto, who highlighted two common mistakes: wanting to change everything upon arrival and the inability to implement coherent changes due to a lack of planning, continuity, and organizational capacity. The logic of limiting available resources has harmful effects, as does the temptation of self-sufficiency and the rejection of team spirit and shared responsibilities.

Indeed, experience is the mother of all things, which is why reformism is necessary, both as a mobilization of energy and as the creation of a movement capable of improving how things work. "Politics is not the art of the possible. It is the art of making the necessary possible." President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's statement deserves to be remembered. We remember the Real Plan in Brazil about 30 years ago and see that the positive results only became lasting through careful preparation, rigorous planning, the gathering of the best, and the creation of a discourse that mobilized ordinary citizens.

For reformism to be real, it needs objectives and goals, just as it shouldn't be self-congratulatory before producing results. Just as the Real Plan could only succeed if everyone understood it was a matter of survival, any reform is more important for its results than its intentions. Hence the rejection of improvisation and the temptation of miracle solutions. There are naturally clouds and uncertainties on the horizon, but a fundamental lesson remains: reformism and democracy must be closely linked as a national purpose.

Time and reflection, knowledge and wisdom must go hand in hand with method, foresight, mutual respect, transparency, pluralism, and rigorous evaluation of the results obtained. It is not my place from this platform to prejudge proposed solutions, which will always require a balance between the proposed plan and the results obtained. It is, however, important that the spirit of reform, whatever it may be, adhere to a strategic plan, never to mere general ideas or impressions. Therefore, superficial judgments based solely on vague notions should not be made. This is a mistake. Considering a reform requires understanding its reasons and foundations, as well as the practical conditions for its implementation.

An old law professor told me that the success of reform depends on discretion and rigorous consideration of resources. A reform on paper without implementation will always be an illusion. I could give other examples, but I'll only mention two areas: science and technology and culture. I remember the actions of my late friend José Mariano Gago and the internationally recognized results. I know that if he were with us, we wouldn't listen to any thoughtless considerations. He would wait and see and, above all, he would contribute to positive developments in improving science policy, both nationally and internationally. I know his method, and it was this that allowed such a positive assessment of the Foundation for Science and Technology, its evolution, and its current and future prospects, in conjunction with innovation and economic life.

Regarding the Public Reading Plan and the School Library Network, I use the same methodology. It's important to understand the extraordinary work carried out and the results achieved, which cannot be forgotten or underestimated. Let's not forget that, as in the scientific field, the Portuguese case is internationally recognized as exemplary. School libraries, which I know well, are benchmarks of stability and connection between school, family, and community. Anyone familiar with these extraordinary resource centers knows that it is the School of the 21st Century that is developing there, in ways that are a source of great pride among us.

Far from any notion of conservation, we speak of a true rapprochement between school communities, rather than any statism or bureaucracy. Therefore, special caution must be taken to avoid centralization through the amalgamation of various entities, which could jeopardize the autonomy and closeness between the school and the educational community. Far from abstraction, what we are talking about is the metaphor of the library as a symbol of a creative, free, and responsible society.

Books, new instruments of communication and knowledge, and the consideration of cultural heritage as a living reality (exemplified by the Faro Convention, in which Portugal was and remains a pioneer in the Council of Europe) constitute essential factors for modernization and development. It's not necessary to say much more when one seeks to value a healthy reformist spirit, which Portuguese society must develop, distinguishing what unites and what distinguishes, separating the enduring from the transient, the transversal from the marginal. A new era is dawning, and it will only yield positive results if reformism is not confused with certainties or resentments that only breed an inability to move forward.