ABSTRACT
This chapter delineates the process that led to the intervention of the Troika in Portugal. Due to the resignation of Prime Minister Socrates and the call for early elections issued by President Cavaco Silva on 5 June 2011, an interim government led by Jos Socrates was in charge of negotiating the Memorandum of Understanding with the Troika. The main duty of Estrutura de Acompanhamento de Memorandums (ESAME) was to coordinate the implementation of the programme of austerity measures agreed upon with the Troika. In 2014, Portugal celebrated the fortieth anniversary of its democracy; simultaneously, the country managed to complete the programme of austerity measures agreed upon with the Troika and returned to the markets without significant problems. Indeed, the Portuguese government was under considerable pressure from the markets and the European institutions alike due to the danger of contagion from the sovereign debt crisis in Greece.
