Portugal's deadliest Easter in ten years.

Good morning, Lisbon. It's Friday, 17 April, and we're looking at 23°C this afternoon with the clouds clearing ahead of a clean weekend.

🌬️ AIR QUALITY: 26 (Good).

🗞️ TOP STORY

TWENTY DEAD. THE GOVERNMENT SAYS CHANGE IS COMING. THEN THERE'S THE SEATBELT.

The Easter data is in, and it is the worst Portugal has seen in a decade. Twenty people were killed in just over 2,600 accidents during the national enforcement operation, four times the five deaths recorded over the same period last year. Fifty-three more suffered serious injuries.

The victims ranged from 12 to 71 years old. Twelve of the twenty died on rural roads. The worst single incident was on Good Friday on the IC1 near Santiago do Cacém, where four members of a German family were killed in a three-vehicle collision. A motorcyclist was also struck and killed by a train in Barcelos. No deaths were recorded on Easter Sunday itself, but the toll resumed the following day.

The causes are the same ones authorities have been flagging for years: alcohol, speed, mobile phones. During the operation, 692 drivers were arrested for blood alcohol levels above the legal limit. GNR radar units caught over 2,300 vehicles speeding in just five days. Nearly 1,000 fines were issued for vehicles with no valid roadworthiness certificate.

Interior minister Luís Neves called the figures "a profound sadness" and announced a package of strategic road safety measures coming shortly. The plan includes higher fines for speeding and drink-driving, an end to pre-announced checkpoint operations (yes, Portuguese police currently publish where and when speed checks will happen in advance), and €224 million in infrastructure investment under Vision Zero 2030, which targets a 50% reduction in road deaths by the end of the decade.

Neves pointed to the contradiction directly: "We have better cars and better roads, so the analysis must focus on attitude and behaviour." He is not wrong. Yet 133 people have already died on Portuguese roads in 2026, 35 more than at the same point last year. The national road safety strategy that is supposed to address all of this has been under elaboration since 2020.

And then there is this. On the same day the government issued its Easter road safety appeal, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro posted a video to social media. In it, he is not wearing a seatbelt. The government confirmed this when asked, noting that the driver was wearing one.

Bottom line: The measures being promised are real and overdue. But Portugal has been promising a road safety overhaul for six years. The number to watch is not the fine amounts — it is whether the Vision Zero strategy actually gets formally adopted this time, or quietly delayed again. If you drive here, nothing changes today.

⚡ QUICK HITS

Sporting are out. Arsenal progressed to the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday after a 0-0 draw at the Emirates, going through 1-0 on aggregate. Sporting came agonisingly close, with Catamo striking the post before half-time and Trossard hitting the same upright at the other end late on, but could not force extra time. It makes Sporting the tenth consecutive Portuguese club to fail to advance beyond the Champions League quarter-finals since Porto beat Lyon back in 2003/04. Six of those ten exits have come against English sides. Arsenal face Atlético Madrid in the semis.

Citizenship law: four days left. President Seguro has until approximately Tuesday 21 April to sign, veto, or refer Portugal's revised nationality law to the Constitutional Court. The law, passed by parliament on 1 April with a two-thirds majority, doubles the residency requirement for most nationalities from five to ten years and starts the clock from the date of your first residence card rather than your application. Legal experts consider a Constitutional Court referral the most likely outcome. That would suspend the law pending a ruling. Tuesday is also the day the Iran ceasefire expires and Brazil's President Lula arrives in Lisbon. It is going to be a big one.

Europe moves on Hormuz. French President Macron and UK Prime Minister Starmer are convening an online summit today to organise a defensive multilateral mission to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. Portugal, as an EU and NATO member, has a direct interest: March inflation came in at 2.7% with energy up 5.8%, and the ceasefire underpinning current oil prices expires in four days.

🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

TAQUERIA PALOMA (MARVILA)

Marvila gets the Hackney comparison a lot, and mostly it is earned: warehouses, galleries, craft beer, Teslas parked outside beautifully renovated flats. Right next to the 8 Marvila market, under a row of bright yellow-striped umbrellas, you will find Taqueria Paloma.

The kitchen is run by chef Aarón Villarreal, from León, Mexico, whose stated inspiration is El Califa de León, the only taqueria in Mexico to hold a Michelin star. The Al Pastor (pork marinated with roasted pineapple, €3.80) is the one to start with. The shrimp taco if you are feeling flush. Tres leches to finish. It ended up in the Louis Vuitton City Guide, for whatever that is worth to you.

If you are going this weekend: Sunday Taco Club runs every Sunday from 6pm, two tacos for the price of one.

→ Find out why its worth booking ahead ←

Insider tip: Open Thursday to Sunday from noon. Book ahead for groups — the terrace fills fast when the sun is out. Praça David Leandro da Silva 9A, Marvila.

📅 WHAT'S ON

See you tomorrow morning.