Paulo Cafôfo

Paulo Alexandre Nascimento Cafôfo (born 18 May 1971) is a Portuguese teacher and politician who has been active in the politics of Madeira and has been the president of the Socialist Party of Madeira from 2020 to 2021, and since 2023. In 2013, he led a coalition to defeat the Social Democratic Party for the first time in almost forty years. He was President of the Municipal Chamber of Funchal from 2013 to 2019, and served in the Legislative Assembly of Madeira from 2019 to 2021.

Paulo Cafôfo
Cafôfo in 2022
Secretary of State for the Portuguese Communities
In office 30 March 2022 – 2 April 2024
Prime Minister	António Costa
Preceded by	Berta Nunes
Succeeded by	José Cesário
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira
In office 15 October 2019 – 6 October 2021
President of the Municipal Chamber of Funchal
In office 21 October 2013 – 1 June 2019
Deputy	Filipa Jardim Fernandes Idalina Perestrelo Miguel Silva Gouveia
Preceded by	Miguel Albuquerque
Succeeded by	Miguel Silva Gouveia
President of the Socialist Party of Madeira
In office 25 July 2020 – 19 February 2021
Preceded by	Sérgio Gonçalves
In office 2 December 2023 – 13 December 2025
Member of the Assembly of the Republic
In office 26 March 2024 – 2 June 2025
Constituency	Madeira
Personal details
Born	Paulo Alexandre Nascimento Cafôfo (1971-05-18) 18 May 1971 Funchal, Madeira
Party	Socialist
Children	2
Education	University of Coimbra

Early life and education

Paulo Alexandre Nascimento Cafofo was born in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, on 18 May 1971. He was educated at the Convent of Santa Clara. He graduated from the University of Coimbra with a history degree in 1995. He worked as a history teacher at multiple schools in Madeira and was the head of the Madeira Teachers' Union.

Career

In the 2013 election Cafôfo led a coalition of parties to defeat the Social Democratic Party for the first time in almost forty years. In the 2017 election he formed the Confiança coalition with the Socialist Party (PS), Left Bloc, Together for the People, Democratic Republican Party, and the We, the Citizens! parties. From 2013 to 2019, he was President of the Municipal Chamber of Funchal. In 2019, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Madeira.

On 25 July 2020, Cafôfo was elected president of the PS in Madeira. He resigned from the assembly and as president of the PS after the party's poor results in the 2021 elections. On 2 December 2023, he was elected president of the PS with no opposition.

Personal life

Cafôfo is the father of two children.

Electoral history

Funchal City Council election, 2013

Ballot: 29 September 2013

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Seats	+/−
	PS/BE/PND/MPT/PTP/PAN	Paulo Cafôfo	21,102	39.2	5	+3
	PSD	Bruno Camacho Pereira	17,450	32.4	4	–3
	CDS–PP	José Manuel Rodrigues	7,828	14.6	1	±0
	CDU	Artur Andrade	4,504	8.4	1	±0
Blank/Invalid ballots			2,924	5.4	–	–
Turnout			53,808	50.46	11	±0
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Funchal City Council election, 2017

Ballot: 1 October 2017

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Seats	+/−
	PS/BE/JPP/PDR/NC	Paulo Cafôfo	23,577	42.1	6	+1
	PSD	Rubina Leal	17,971	32.1	4	±0
	CDS–PP	Rui Barreto	4,819	8.6	1	±0
	MPT/PPV/CDC	Roberto Vieira	2,258	4.0	0	±0
	CDU	Artur Andrade	2,029	3.6	0	–1
	PPM/PURP	Gil Canha	1,330	2.4	0	new
	PTP	Raquel Coelho	1,252	2.2	0	±0
	Other parties		501	0.9	0	±0
Blank/Invalid ballots			2,333	4.2	–	–
Turnout			56,070	52.75	11	±0
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Madeiran regional election, 2019

Main article: 2019 Madeiran regional election

Ballot: 22 September 2019

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Seats	+/−
	PSD	Miguel Albuquerque	56,449	39.4	21	–3
	PS	Paulo Cafôfo	51,207	37.8	19	+14
	CDS–PP	Rui Barreto	8,246	5.8	3	–4
	JPP	Élvio Sousa	7,830	5.5	3	–2
	CDU	Edgar Silva	7,060	1.8	1	–1
	BE	Paulino Ascensão	2,489	1.7	0	–2
	PAN	João Henrique de Freitas	2,095	1.5	0	±0
	PURP	Rafael Macedo	1,766	1.2	0	new
	RIR	Roberto Vieira	1,749	1.2	0	new
	PTP	Raquel Coelho	1,426	1.0	0	–1
	Other parties		4,132	2.9	0	–1
Blank/Invalid ballots			5,439	4.3	–	–
Turnout			143,200	55.50	47	±0
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Madeiran regional election, 2024

Main article: 2024 Madeiran regional election

Ballot: 26 May 2024

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Seats	+/−
	PSD	Miguel Albuquerque	49,104	36.1	19	–1
	PS	Paulo Cafôfo	28,840	21.3	11	±0
	JPP	Élvio Sousa	22,959	16.9	9	+4
	CHEGA	Miguel Castro	12,562	9.2	4	±0
	CDS–PP	José Manuel Rodrigues	5,374	4.0	2	–1
	IL	Nuno Morna	3,481	2.6	1	±0
	PAN	Mónica Freitas	2,531	1.9	1	±0
	CDU	Edgar Silva	2,217	1.6	0	–1
	BE	Roberto Almada	1,912	1.4	0	–1
	Other parties		4,003	3.0	0	±0
Blank/Invalid ballots			2,793	2.1	–	–
Turnout			135,917	53.40	47	±0
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Madeiran regional election, 2025

Main article: 2025 Madeiran regional election

Ballot: 23 March 2025

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Seats	+/−
	PSD	Miguel Albuquerque	62,059	43.4	23	+4
	JPP	Élvio Sousa	30,091	21.1	11	+2
	PS	Paulo Cafôfo	22,351	15.6	8	–3
	CHEGA	Miguel Castro	7,821	5.5	3	–1
	CDS–PP	José Manuel Rodrigues	4,289	3.0	1	–1
	IL	Gonçalo Maia Camelo	3,019	2.2	1	±0
	CDU	Edgar Silva	2,543	1.8	0	±0
	PAN	Mónica Freitas	2,323	1.6	0	–1
	BE	Roberto Almada	1,586	1.1	0	±0
	Other parties		3,503	2.4	0	±0
Blank/Invalid ballots			2,296	2.3	–	–
Turnout			142,959	55.98	47	±0
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Works cited

News

• "Paulo Cafôfo eleito líder do PS-Madeira". Expresso. 2 December 2023. Archived from the original on 8 July 2025.
• Simões, Bruno (14 August 2016). "Paulo Cafôfo: Quem é o homem por detrás da máscara?". Jornal de Negócios. Archived from the original on 8 July 2025.

Web

• "Biography". Assembly of the Republic. Archived from the original on 8 July 2025.
• "Paulo Cafôfo". Paulo Cafôfo. Archived from the original on 24 November 2017.
• "Paulo Cafôfo: Secretário de Estado das Comunidades Portuguesas". Portugal. Archived from the original on 8 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.