Marcelo doesn’t waste time: he wants to listen to parties from the Azores

Elisabete and Sara sweep the leaves that the wind brings, piled up by the wind and time, in front of the Regional Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores (ALRAA), in Horta, Faial island.

The sound of the two brooms with thick and long bristles is repeated in a rhythmic and almost mechanical way, outside the street. It is not yet 10 am and, while they are working, deputies from the Azorean hemicycle are arriving for the second day of the plenary session on the discussion of the Plan and Budget of the Azores for 2024. For the majority, the two sweepers are invisible. For both, what is discussed in the regional Parliament tells them little, but they both know that the budget’s failure is practically certain. “I hope it’s not negative and everything stays the same and I can receive my salary correctly.”, wishes Elisabete Jorge, 46 years old. My colleague, Sara Cabaça, 29, also hopes the same: “I don’t know much about politics but I hope everything stays as it is.” After a short break for two minutes of conversation with Expresso, the two women continue together with the cart loaded with leaves.