Like many at the University of Edinburgh, Rodrigo Ramos is an international student. Like many, he is a third-year student completing his year abroad at Paris’ Sciences Po.
However, unlike many, Rodrigo is heavily involved in Portugal’s Social Democratic Party to the extent that his name appears on a list of potential local councillors for his constituency.
Rodrigo decided to study Politics and International Relations (MA) at the University of Edinburgh to gain international experience. He learned that Southern Europe is “less polarised” on most issues, although it too has a rising far-right.
Rodrigo hopes Portugal’s Social Democratic Party, the country’s mainstream centre-right party, can halt this advance.
Is it not a tad ironic for a centre-right party to describe themselves as ‘Social Democrats?’ Rodrigo points out that, following the fall of the Portuguese dictatorship in 1974, it was taboo to associate with the right. This created a quirk in Portuguese in which parties adopt left-wing names.
Rodrigo highlights that the Social Democratic Party is a broad church, encompassing social democrats interested in widening equity, conservatives focused on offering direction, and liberals working their “magic in the economy.” This “diversity” strengthens the Party, allowing it to attract the most votes.
Indeed, the Social Democrat Party was elected to government in 2024, when Rodrigo leafletted and canvassed voters in between his exams. Because of his hard work, his name was placed on a reserve list of potential councillors. He is keen to stress this is merely a formality: if one of his Party’s councillors is elected and needs to be replaced, it will go to someone else.
Still, this is impressive for a third-year university student. Should more young people get involved in politics? Rodrigo says he only became involved at 18 because he wanted to avoid factional youth-wing politics. But, he now thinks “youth is the only solution to politics.”
Ultimately, Rodrigo believes the young should help craft policy that benefits, which will defeat the far-right onslaught we see in today’s politics.
What policies most interest Rodrigo? He says he wanted to see burdensome “bureaucracy” overcome in Portugal and in the EU, so that policies may be swiftly implemented.
With time dwindling, I ask if readers should expect to see his name in the news more often in the future. Rodrigo responds: “If by the end of my life, I’ve done a great service to the people of Portugal and Europe in any capacity, then I’ll be a man who is fulfilled.”
Image provided by Rodrigo Ramos