Jesus is Portuguese!!! Or is He Hispanic???

Since returning from Portugal, I have been watching and enjoying the History Channel series “The Bible” which appears to be setting records in viewership in the U.S. While in Portugal, I discovered both through the media and through several local friends that Jesus was Portuguese. Amazing!

Well, let me clarify just a bit. In the series by famed Hollywood producer Mark Burnett (Survivor, Shark Tank, The Voice, etc.) and his actress wife Roma Downey, they made the decision to cast  as Jesus Christ the handsome Diogo Morgado, born in Lisbon, a 32 year old emerging star who has built his career starring in a number of popular television series in Portugal. Morgado then expanded into some roles in Brazil and Spain before landing the large and complex role of Jesus Christ in the series reaching tens of millions of viewers. As Jesus, he has been receiving generally very positive reviews, and as was clear to me during my time in Portugal, his countrymen and women seem quite pleased with his new global stardom, bringing a moment of brief respite from an otherwise gloomy economic future.

But is Morgado really Portuguese? Well, one would think so, since he was born in Portugal, was raised in Portugal, lives in Portugal, and speaks Portuguese. (I would suppose that he probably also enjoys the wonderful wine and food in his homeland as well!). However, if Morgado would choose to move to the US and take the steps to become a citizen, would he still be Portuguese? Well according to the US Census Bureau, maybe not. He would become a Hispanic.

According to the most recent US Census, about 1.4 million citizens claim Portuguese ancestry, not only from continental Portugal but many from the Azorean and Madeiran Islands as well. A few weeks ago, the Huffington Post and other media outlets reported that the US Census Bureau was moving towards classifying the Portuguese in the US as Hispanics in the 2020 census, something that many Portuguese (and likely Spaniards as well), would loudly voice their objections to. The Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the US (PALCUS), quickly organized an online survey and determined that more than 80% of the Portuguese Americans surveyed objected to this classification. Following this information, the US Census Bureau recently responded to these reports and denied that this reclassification was to occur, according to Michael C. Cook, Director of Public Affairs for the Census Bureau. (see http://portuguese-american-journal.com/disclaimer-us-census-bureau-will-not-classify-portuguese-as-hispanic-update/ )

Whatever the exact intentions are of the Census Bureau, as a proud Portuguese American I would strongly object to and actually reject any such classification. Being born and raised in California with broad exposure to the Hispanic culture, language, food, traditions and people, at no time in my life have I ever felt Hispanic. And in my own form of quiet protest, for years now I have filled out survey forms by refusing the classifications as Caucasian or White, and instead I check the box for “Other” and write in “Lusitanian” if it gives me the option. While I hold deep affection and appreciation for the great tradition and culture of the Hispanics, but it is not Portuguese. And for anyone who has spent any time at all in Portugal or Spain, the differences at many levels is even more pronounced.

So for now, Sr. Morgado and his Portuguese identity appear safe from the forms and interference of yet another government agency, and I suppose I will as well. Hands off the Portuguese! Viva Portugal!

How is 2013 Shaping Up for Portugal?

Over the past few months, the US stock market has been rising rapidly, touching new all time highs. The domestic housing market appears to have stabilized in most markets, and home prices in some markets have actually risen dramatically through 2012 and the first part of 2013. Even with a fractured political system, the North American economy is sending many signals of recovery and growth. How so for Portugal?

                                        

Just returning from two weeks in the Lisbon area, I have spent a fair amount of my time trying to observe, ask questions, read and listen to a variety of sources to gauge what is happening in Portugal. While I desire to provide a report similar to that recorded above, unfortunately much of Europe, including Portugal, appears to be getting worse…much worse. People are foregoing health care services and medications, and families are consolidating with more and more people under one roof. I have heard reports of the malls being full of people during this current winter, not for the purposes of shopping but for the purposes of staying warm, as they have cut off the heat in their apartments.

The recent headlines have trumpeted the rebellion of the people of Cyprus, the tiny Mediterranean Island of approximately one million people. Instead of accepting an egregious penalty on all personal bank accounts, the Cypriots have instead taken to the streets in demonstrations. While Cyprus may be the proverbial “canary in the coal mine” implying that the smaller nations of the European Union have withstood about all they can of economic austerity, one sees far less raucousness in Portugal than in Cyprus, Spain, Italy and elsewhere.

However, it would be a grievous mistake to assume that the relative quiet from the Portuguese is a sign of positive economic developments. This current trip underscored the human toll that Portugal and other small nations are paying in this economic downturn. At times it was hard to realize that so many that you speak with are unemployed, and for many that are employed they are often underemployed, working two or three part time jobs in an attempt to escape financial despair. For retirees, significant reductions (10-40%) have been made in their pensions’ for all taxes and costs have gone up dramatically, and holidays have been reduced.

Now, as an entrepreneur and as professor in a School of Business, I must say that some of these cutbacks are indeed needed to make Portugal competitive with a globalized world. It is simply not possible for much of an entire country to go on holiday for 4, 6 or even 8 weeks per year. Government benefits for not only Portugal but much of the developed world (including the US), have escalated to unsustainable levels. But the solution does not lie in reductions, cutbacks and austerity—a new path to growth must be found.

Last fall, I met with a group of young Portuguese (pictured above) to discuss what this future could look like, and attempted to instruct, encourage and provide a different way of thinking to solve these problems. Currently, this group of exciting young people from Loures, Massama and Amadora are working on some ideas for a summer seminar on entrepreneurship, management and related business issues. Their excitement is contagious and needs to spread among all of the strands of Portuguese political, economic, socio-economic and other stratas of society.

And just this week I had the opportunity to visit a prominent business school in Lisbon, with approximately 8,000 students in various degree and executive programs. The students and curriculum is rigorous, vibrant and international. Diana Malyszek Oliveira, an alum of the ISCTE Business School in Lisbon completed their program and she has now worked for ISCTE for the past ten years in the International Programs department building collaborations and partnerships throughout the world. (Pictured below) These are all good signs! And the more that the energy of youth channeled through churches, schools, seminars and other platforms can foster and stimulate small and mid size enterprise development and entrepreneurship, the better.

But Portugal still labors under an inefficient and archaic new business permitting and licensing system, and the sooner significant reforms are made there the better. Abd they also need to realize that this must come from the ground up and not from the stale political ideas, parties and leaders. A new Portugal can emerge from this crisis, but it will take a new way of thinking about employment security than it has for many years in not only Portugal but in the entire European Union. The seeds of the greatness of the famous “Discovers” of Portugal who long ago ruled the waves and traveled the uncharted world remain—but they need something other than the directives of the European Central Bank to have them burst forth into a new and more prosperous Portugal for the future.