Ciganos/Roma and citizenship in Portugal: 50 years of democracy and living conditions

Abstract

The Constitution of the Portuguese Republic establishes that Portuguese people have access to established citizenship rights, namely the right to cultural diversity, as well as universal access to education, housing, health and decent living conditions. Nonetheless, after 50 years of democracy in Portugal, Ciganos/Roma people continue to be victims of racism, anti-Gypsyism, the judicial system, with little schooling and difficulties in accessing the labour market, and not all of them have access to the effective exercise of constitutional rights. In this text we discuss some dimensions of living conditions, racism and hate speech, based on the results of various studies carried out in Portugal.