The leader of BE and former deputy José Manuel Pureza expressed confidence today in finding a solution that “strengthens” the party at the next convention but dismissed “premature scenarios.”
After reports that his name is among the options for party coordination following Mariana Mortágua’s exit, the former vice-president of parliament emphasized that “a democratic party not only accommodates different visions but strengthens itself from these differences.”
“In the Bloco, each motion will present its political orientation proposal and leadership solution to the National Convention. In the motion I am behind, there are several people with great ability to coordinate the Bloco,” he stated.
Pureza supports motion ‘A,’ which until now has been led by coordinator Mariana Mortágua, who announced today her unavailability to continue coordinating the party.
The former deputy notes that “this discussion has only just begun.”
“I am engaged in it in the same way as all my colleagues. No more, no less. I am confident that at the next Bloco Convention, we will find a solution that strengthens the Bloco. Until then, all scenarios are premature,” he concludes in the statement.
BE coordinator Mariana Mortágua announced today that she will not run for party leadership again, considering that the leadership she headed failed to “generate new political and electoral momentum.”
“Faced with this assessment, and as I conclude the mandate given to me at the last Convention, I inform you that I have decided not to run for a new term as coordinator of the Bloco de Esquerda,” reads a letter sent to party members that was accessed by Agência Lusa.
In this letter, Mariana Mortágua recalls that when she was elected coordinator, just two and a half years ago, “she knew the difficult political conditions for the left and the party.”
“After the collapse of the PS absolute majority and with the strengthening of the right and far-right, it was necessary to find other ways. I consider that this goal was not met. Not only because the electoral space of the Bloco continued to reduce, but also because the renewal we then made did not prove sufficient to relaunch our social intervention,” she argues.
Mariana Mortágua, 39, an economist, was elected BE’s national coordinator in May 2023, at the party’s last national convention, succeeding Catarina Martins, the current candidate for the Presidency of the Republic backed by her party.
The next National Convention of BE is scheduled for November 29 and 30.
