Good evening, #Monomad friends
Here is my entry for the #monomad contest by 
On a day when people took to the streets to protest in many cities across Europe, including Portugal, I went looking for photos I had of the beautiful city of Porto.
A bastion of good people, hardworking people, and people who are always ready to help anyone who asks for assistance.
Today, unlike that October afternoon that seems so distant—though it happened only twelve months ago—many young people took to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with the government’s housing policies.
This is not a new problem, as you can imagine, but it was inflamed by the street protests that began in Tirana back in June. This movement, dubbed the “Flamingo Revolution,” was sparked when a group of residents in a region of Albania learned of the launch of a project for a luxury resort.
The perfect spark for the explosion we’re seeing today in cities across Europe.
With elections for the Serbian Parliament (tomorrow) on November 29, the general elections in Spain, and the Bulgarian presidential election (also in November)... And that’s just this year! In January, we have the German presidential election (with the AfD rising in various opinion polls)...
Today will also determine which direction Brazil will take. It’s the only country in Latin America that hasn’t yet shifted to the right—and over which the U.S. still doesn’t wield significant influence.
This could be the beginning of a turning point.
What kind of democracy do we believe in, and what kind of democracy will we end up with?
If we don’t know who will govern us, and we view elections merely as if they were a sporting contest, and we support a particular party or politician as if it were a matter of team loyalty, then we are headed for very turbulent times.
And what about you—do you also fear a collapse of the European democratic system? Couldn’t there be a shift toward more centrist governments and policies, without extremism in the mix, as is likely to happen in France with Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon vying for a probable runoff—just like the one being decided today in Brazil?
In my opinion, extremism leads to nothing good or beneficial in the medium term. Voters should be better informed about centrist policies, and the politicians who represent them should do everything in their power to fulfill their campaign promises and the platforms they presented.
If nothing is done to clarify the situation, everything could go down the drain. And this chaos serves the interests of at least two global players: President Putin and President Trump.
I hope you enjoyed my post here in the B&W community
Bem Hajam 🍀
Photographed with Samsung A26 by 
Photographic edition with PhotoScape X
Original text in Portuguese written by