The Jornal violates the Constitution, which stipulates that news organs must be impartial and independent from state powers. It appears, however, that no laws exist in Portugal to enforce the Constitution and that the existing state entities are either powerless to do so or have no will to do so.
Faced with decades of this abuse on behalf of the Jornal and the Regional Government, the Socialist Party passed a law to prohibit state entities from owning newspapers. President Cavaco, in his last mandate, twice vetoed this law, enabling Jardim to carry on with the Jornal as his propaganda newspaper.
Curiously, the Jornal is nominally guided by the Church. According to the company’s statute, it is up to the Bishop to appoint the editor-in-chief and to ensure the paper abides by its editorial statutes.
The Bishop of Funchal is none other than Cavaco’s cousin Dom Carrilho Cavaco, who says he refuses to interfere on the editorial line, since the Church is a minor shareholder, leaving, by implication, the task to the major shareholder - Jardim’s government.
No surprise then, that Cavaco’s recent candidature for the Presidency was given extra-favorable coverage in the Jornal and that all the political opinion pieces lauded Cavaco and trashed the rival candidates.
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