ABSTRACT
This chapter describes primary features of the Portuguese political systetn in order to provide a context for the subsequent analysis. It has a twofold perspective: systemic and diachronic. The first section introduces a basic explanation of the variables composing the Portuguese political system, in particular its semi-presidential character and the proportionality rule inherent in the representative system. The second section looks into the main events of Portuguese politics since 1974, that is when transition to democracy took place. This is important in order to understand the rapid change the Portuguese political system has been through in its first 25 plus years of democracy. The final section goes through the main events of the period studied here: 1983–95. These three sections provide a fundamental context to understand better the analysis developed in the subsequent chapters.
