In a closing speech at a PCP rally held tonight at the building of A Voz do Operário in Lisbon, Paulo Raimundo addressed the party’s municipal election results on the 12th, acknowledging they were negative but achieved after years of what he termed a “brutal offensive against the PCP and CDU management in the municipalities,” characterized by “lies, slander, and silencing.”
“In this context, the CDU secured 6.62% of the votes, establishing itself as the third force in terms of mayoral positions, winning 97 parish council presidencies and electing 1,500 new members directly,” detailed the PCP leader.
Raimundo further remarked that the communists achieved a result that “forced some to backtrack, to rewrite what they had penned the previous day, and to swallow hard and revert to their usual refrain” that “it wasn’t now, but next time they will.”
Paulo Raimundo asserted that the PCP is a “party of convergence,” but not a “theoretical or abstract convergence,” rather a “concrete convergence, every day, in all struggles.”
Regarding the State Budget for 2026, the PCP leader reiterated criticisms of both the right and the PS for the announced abstention (and consequent facilitation) of the budget text.
Raimundo stated that Chega and IL would “perform maneuvers, invent pretexts to create a false opposition” and “distract attention from their commitments and proposals, many of which are included in the Budget,” adding that Ventura’s party would display “even greater arrogance” due to the “opportunity once again provided by the PS with the announcement of abstention.”
“The Socialist Party can describe these actions as it likes: demanding, cunning, this, that. It can do whatever, but it cannot escape the responsibility, not only of making the budget viable but of facilitating the ongoing policy, this policy of the PSD, CDS, Chega, and the Liberal Initiative, this is what the PS does with its demanding facilitation,” he asserted.
In front of an auditorium filled with militants, Raimundo also criticized the Government’s proposed labor package, claiming that the people, even those who “voted largely against their interests” and “empowered the forces that oppress them,” need the PCP even more.
The communist secretary-general claimed a “great coup” is underway, stating “all instruments will be utilized with all strength” starting with the party tools of what he called a “gang of rights robbery” composed of PSD, CDS-PP, IL, and Chega.
“They are all involved in this process, they are all neck-deep in this process. It is necessary, urgent, and possible to reject and defeat the labor package because what’s at stake is not just workers’ rights as if it were a small matter. What’s at stake is a brutal acceleration of exploitation and the creation of an even more unjust society,” he added.
Regarded by him as a “declaration of war” by the executive, Raimundo appealed for communist action in every workplace and parish and for participation in the major protest against this package scheduled for November 8th in Lisbon.
In this speech, Paulo Raimundo also criticized IL for wanting a steeper reduction in corporate tax and Chega for wanting to lower the state surcharge, stating that with this proposal, Ventura’s party “reveals its true nature and whom it serves.”
Regarding the presidential elections, Paulo Raimundo expressed “immense pride” in António Filipe’s candidacy, considering it “the political expression of the people, their aspirations, rights, dreams, and lives.”
