At Students For Liberty, we love talking about the ideas of classical liberalism, but what we love even more is when our students turn them into measurable local impact. This is why today we are celebrating the election of Tomas Barreiro, one of our volunteers in Portugal, as a member of the Parish Assembly (a Portuguese term for civil administration district) in Ajuda.
Tomas will be the first-ever classical liberal to be represented in an assembly body in Ajuda. This is especially important as the district has always been dominated by the majority-holding Socialist Party. The left felt safe and the center-right often regarded these elections not worth the fight in some smaller neighbourhoods. Ajuda suffered from weak accountability, creating political neglect.
Tomas ran as part of the center-right coalition between Iniciativa Liberal (a party which he represents), Social-Democratic Party and Christian-Democratic Party. Tomas had one goal in mind, to bring the decision-making power back to his community. Despite still being the most voted party, the Socialist Party ended up losing its absolute majority in the parish and Tomas was elected as the first-ever representative of Iniciativa Liberal in the history of Ajuda Parish Assembly.
This isn’t an isolated situation, however. Even though the center-left ended up winning the first round of the country-wide presidential elections, the rise in the popularity of the liberal candidate can be seen as breaking the “inevitability” of the Socialist rule.
“Liberalism in Portugal stops being treated as an urban niche. It becomes a political language capable of competing for the highest office.”
Whether in the Parish Assembly or on the national stage, Tomas advocates for decentralized power and individual agency. In Ajuda, he is currently working on the issues that matter to residents. He is improving public infrastructure and safety, as well as modernization and civic engagement. As a member of our Local Coordinator Program, Tomas is now leveraging Ajuda’s university campus to bring students into local political life – developing a community that organizes spontaneously and doesn’t wait for the state to solve every issue.
Tomas showed up where others saw immediate loss, and he ended up winning. With this, he proves that liberal ideas are not irrelevant and that local community politics can change if you focus on accountability and local empowerment.
As Portugal heads into the second round of a pivotal presidential election, Tomas continues to lead his local neighborhood. His success is more than a win for one political party; it’s a win for all the students and future changemakers in Portugal ready to move beyond the status quo.
