On September 14, 2025, Macau goes to the polls for the eighth Legislative Assembly, electing 14 deputies by direct suffrage. In this edition of PLATAFORMA we give voice to three of the six candidacies: the Macau United Citizens Association, represented by Lei Leong Wong, current deputy; the Good Home Alliance, led by Wong Kit Cheng, also a sitting deputy; and the Union for Development, headed by Ella Lei, likewise a deputy in the outgoing legislature.
The remaining candidacies will have their space in the next edition of the weekly. The order of publication reflects only the promptness with which each list responded to the interview request. So far, only the New Hope list, led by José Pereira Coutinho, has chosen not to participate.
To ensure a fair analysis, the newspaper submitted exactly the same questions to all the lists, focusing on their relationship with the Government, social and labor priorities, the need for economic diversification and revitalization of SMEs, as well as Macau’s role as a platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries. The exception was the Union for Development, which did not accept the proposed format and instead submitted a press release that serves as the basis for the news article published on page 8.
Among the candidacies, there is a clear consensus on priorities: addressing social issues, employment for residents, economic diversification, and the difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises. But it is equally evident that, beyond the diagnosis, confidence in the Government’s plans prevails as the main response. The fact is that for diversification there is the “1+4” strategy; for SMEs, however, there is still no structured policy beyond support measures.
There is, in general, recognition that consumption subsidies and SME support should be maintained, but also a clear perception of their structural ineffectiveness: they ease symptoms, they do not treat causes. It is true that these policies have prevented immediate bankruptcies and protected jobs, but they do not build new foundations for a sustainable future.
The essential thing is to distinguish between repeating the diagnosis and presenting effective solutions. It is equally necessary to recognize that we are buying time without creating a future. If public resources continue to be channeled mainly into postponing the closure of small and medium-sized enterprises, economic diversification will not gain the speed Macau needs. Investment will remain stuck in emergency measures, instead of being directed toward new sectors; recent graduates will continue to lack opportunities in their field of study, pushed into survival jobs or emigration; and SMEs will remain dependent on ad hoc support instead of achieving sustainability. The cycle repeats: bankruptcies are postponed, but so too is the creation of an economy capable of generating skilled employment and lasting social security.
Without a more diversified and productive economy, the State will not have the budgetary margin to respond to the social demands of a population that is aging at an accelerated pace, while the economy outside the casinos continues to lose attractiveness compared to the more competitive offerings of the Greater Bay Area.
The new Assembly and this Government will, in a short period of time, have to demonstrate the ability to innovate and break with inertia. What Macau truly requires are structural reforms that address persistent weaknesses.
*Executive Director of Plataforma.
