Yesterday, millions of Portuguese people did something extraordinary: they chose.

Each vote placed in the ballot box was more than just a simple cross on a paper — it was an affirmation of freedom, an expression of will, a gesture that, no matter how small it may seem, is enormous in its meaning.

At a time when the world faces tension, polarisation, and uncertainty, the simple act of voting remains one of the greatest privileges of our democracy. It is the moment when every voice counts and where equality is absolute.

When so many people still live in silence, the simple act of voting is a privilege — and also a responsibility. Democracy isn’t perfect, but it is ours. And it depends on us to keep it alive.

It doesn’t matter who you vote for. What matters is doing it with awareness, with hope, with a desire to contribute. What matters is continuing to listen to those who think differently — not as a threat, but as an essential part of the same country.

Regardless of the results, democracy wins when there is participation, when there is respect, when there is dialogue.

We will always disagree. We are different; we see the world in different ways. But disagreement does not have to mean attack.
When someone thinks differently, the easy impulse is to lose patience. To cancel. To shout.
But what if, instead, we chose to explain? Show our point of view? Help clarify? Bring others into the conversation rather than push them away?

This is how a mature, conscious, and fair society is built.
Not through the force of shouting, but through the courage to listen and the generosity to try to understand others.

Portugal is not made of parties. It’s all of us.
Those who won and those who lost. Those who voted with conviction and those who voted with doubts.
Those who celebrate and those who worry.
Everyone counts. Everyone is needed.

Today, the challenge continues — to build, to collaborate, to disagree without division.
Because the vote is only the beginning.
The rest — the hardest, the most important part — happens every day.
And it depends on each of us.

After all, we’re all in the same boat.

And no one gets far if others are left behind.