There is no economic crisis in Portugal, just "costumes brandos"

Everybody believes there is a centenary economic crisis in Portugal, but that is not what really happens. What we have here is something that can be better described as an economic condition.

Portuguese workers are quite under qualified, elementary and middle school educational rates are between the lowest, comparing with other european countries, bad government policies and bad EU funds investiments, burocracy rules, and the country is very much dependent in importations. As in many european countries, population is quite accomodated, since some social standards are garanteed by the State, people do not have the habit to do serious complaints, protests, or demand changes, contrasting with mass protests that are common in Argentina, Brasil, and Chile, for example.

Another factor that can explain the reality of the economic condition in Portugal is the so called "costumes brandos" (mild costumariness)(If you have a better translation, please, be my guest): that is how the portuguese people describe their own social practices. Cool is good, but too cool can be a problem. There is a low self-esteem, that doesn't help business and cultural initiatives.

So, where is the good news here? It's simple, Portugal is a land of opportunities in Europe. While more developed economies are facing a real crisis, with economic rates slowing down, Portugal is in the opposite movement, still slowly improving its economy. Labor force is cheaper in Portugal, and infrastructure is good, so there is a lot of investiments comming, while German, France and Spain, for example, have to deal with a bigger saturation of products and services. Inspite of all difficulties, Portugal is a sunny plataform of things to do.