Os Piores Portugueses () was a poll organized by the debate program Eixo do Mal of SIC Notícias to determine which Portuguese figures contributed the most to the country's ruin. It competed and parodied the poll for Great Portuguese (Os Grandes Portugueses).
There were two categories for each poll, each featuring 20 semi-finalists:
Who most contributed to the ruin of Portugal? - Won by António de Oliveira Salazar, also the winner of Os Grandes Portugueses. Who better incarnates the worst qualities of the Portuguese People? - Won by Fátima Felgueiras.
The candidates for Worst Portuguese Who most contributed to the ruin of Portugal? Name Lived Notable Events and Rationale Great Portuguese RankAfonso Costa1871-1937Republican activist, Prime Minister of Portugal during the First Portuguese Republic73António de Almeida Santos1926-2016Socialist Party PoliticianNoneÁlvaro Cunhal1913-2005Former leader of the Portuguese Communist Party2Aníbal Cavaco Silvaborn 1939Then President of Portugal, former Prime Minister of Portugal. 27António Guterresborn 1949Former Prime Minister of Portugal.NoneManuel Gonçalves Cerejeira1888-1977Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon during Estado Novo NoneThe horse of Afonso, Prince of Portugalfl. 1491By falling and killing the heir of the throne and husband to the heiress of Castile and Aragon, prevented the union of the Iberian kingdoms under Portuguese hegemony. NoneThe trumpeter of Afonso I of Portugalfl. 1143During a loot, he lost his trumpet which he was meant to play to order the loot to be finished, metaphorically meaning the looting is still going on.NoneAfonso I of Portugaldied 1185The first King of Portugal and founder of the country; nominated for that exact reason. 4John III of Portugal1502-1557King of Portugal during the InquisitionNoneKing Sebastian1554–1578Boy-king who became entangled in the Moroccan civil war, a Muslim country he understood very little about, ultimately leading to his fall at the Battle of Ksar El Kebir and leaving the country at the mercy of Spain.NoneJosé Manuel Durão Barroso1956–Former Prime Minister of Portugal, left office to become President of the European Commission, leaving Pedro Santana Lopes as his successor.NoneSister Lúcia1907–2005Claimed to have seen and talked to the Virgin Mary at Fátima in 1917. She later became a nun.89Marcelo Caetano1906-1980Successor to António de Oliveira Salazar as the ruler of Estado Novo31Mário Soares1924–2017Former Prime Minister of Portugal and President of Portugal.12António de Oliveira Salazar1889–1970Dictatorial Prime Minister of Portugal during the Estado Novo, which repressed democratic movements and involved Portugal in a costly colonial war in Africa.1Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho1936-2021Chief strategist of Carnation Revolution and FP-25 leader68Sidónio Pais1872-1918President of the First Portuguese RepublicNoneCunha RodriguesBorn 1940Former Attorney-general of the republicNoneVasco Gonçalves1921-2005Prime Minister of Portugal during PREC54
Who better incarnates the worst qualities of the Portuguese People? Name Lived Notable Events and Rationale Great Portuguese RankMaria Severa 1820-1846Fado singer. Portrayed as the founder of the genreNone:pt:Maria de Jesus Caetano Freire1894-1981António de Oliveira Salazar's maidNoneDona Branca1902-1992Fraudster, Ponzi scheme maintainerNoneAntónio Egas Moniz1874-1955Neurologist, lobotomy inventor, first Portuguese winner of the Nobel Prize23Fátima FelgueirasBorn 1954Former mayor of Felgueiras, involved in various corruption scandals NoneFernando Mamede1951-202610,000 metres athlete known to frequently crack under pressureNoneFlorbela Espanca1894-1930Poet34Valentim LoureiroBorn 1938Former mayor of Gondomar, chairman of Boavista F.C. and of the LPFP, involved in various corruption scandals in all titlesNoneKaúlza de Arriaga1915-2004Far-right politician, founder of MIRN-PDPNoneLili CaneçasBorn 1944SocialiteNonePortuguese husbandsPaulo PortasBorn 1962Former president of CDS – People's PartyNonePina Manique1733-1805Magistrate during the AbsolutismNoneJoaquim Pina Moura1952-2020Former finance and economy minister NoneJorge Nuno Pinto da Costa1937-2025Chairman of FC Porto, involved in corruption scandals17José Maria MartinsLawyer, known for defending Carlos Silvino in the Casa Pia child sexual abuse scandalNoneTomás TaveiraBorn 1938Architect and professor. Involved in a sex tape scandal, where he was shown having sex with (amongst others) some of his studentsNoneJosé Maria SaleiroBorn 1973Big Brother 1 winnerNoneAlberto João JardimBorn 1943Then president of the Autonomous Region of Madeira52Américo Thomaz1894-1987President of Portugal during Estado NovoNone
References
https://piorportugues.blogs.sapo.pt/