Follow Portugal Immigration and Life in Portugal: A survey released on the 5th by Porto Editora in Portugal shows that "firefighter" became Portugal's word of the year for 2013, receiving 48% of the votes. 150,000 internet users participated in the survey.
Last summer, Portugal experienced its most severe forest fires since 2005, with over 145,000 hectares of forest burned and 8 firefighters losing their lives in the line of duty. The selection of "firefighter" as the word of the year for 2013 reflects the respect the Portuguese people have for firefighters.
The term "irrevocable" ranked second with 17% of the votes. Last July, then-Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Portas resigned due to dissatisfaction with the selection of a new Finance Minister, stating in his resignation letter that his request to resign was "irrevocable." However, Portas did not leave the coalition government immediately, but was promoted to Deputy Prime Minister within a week of submitting his resignation.
The term "unconstitutional" ranked third with 10% of the votes. In 2011, Portugal reached a bailout agreement with the "Troika," consisting of the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. To fulfill the agreement, the Portuguese government has implemented a series of strict fiscal austerity policies in recent years, sparking public dissatisfaction. Last April, the Portuguese Constitutional Court ruled that certain provisions in the government's 2013 budget were unconstitutional.
Other words of the year for 2013 voted on by Portuguese internet users included "post-Troika," "swap contracts," and "same-sex couple adoption." The survey results also show that the economic situation and austerity policies remain the topics of most concern to the Portuguese public.
Porto Editora, which has a 70-year history, is one of the most famous publishing institutions in Portugal. It conducts a word of the year survey at the end of each year to review and summarize the major events of the past year with the Portuguese public. Portugal's word of the year for 2012 was "Troika-ed."
