The Iniciativa Liberal elected Mariana Leitão, the sole candidate for leadership, on Saturday at a convention characterized by Cotrim Figueiredo’s openness to a presidential candidacy, calls for more attention to “social issues,” and criticism of coalition strategies in local elections.
Mariana Leitão was elected with 73% of the votes, with 27% abstaining. She became the party’s fifth president and its first female leader, urging the party to end internal disputes and focus its strength outward after ascending the stage to the tune of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”
In her first speech post-election, Mariana Leitão also accused Prime Minister Luís Montenegro of proposing measures that “seem to be drawn directly from the PS’s playbook.”
“Subsidies, checks for this and that, vague promises of public investment, anything but structural reforms, anything but political courage,” she accused, considering it “a copy of the model already followed by António Costa.”
Today, the new IL leader Mariana Leitão accused the Prime Minister of proposing measures that “seem to be drawn directly from the PS’s playbook,” challenging him to decide whether he wants to be a copy of António Costa.
Lusa | 21:27 – 19/07/2025
In her initial address to the convention in the morning, while presenting her global strategy thesis, she declared a fight against Chega, which she views as “a new socialism on the right.”
“Today, immobilism begins to change signs. The chaos right starts hiding behind responsibility to keep everything the same. Make no mistake: Chega is nothing more than a new socialism on the right. They do not defend our sovereignty as individuals. They do not propose any reform for Portugal. They are collectivists, statists, and paternalists,” she argued.
In this same address, Mariana Leitão promised a more ideological and even “more radical” IL, while hours later, former leader João Cotrim Figueiredo expressed a preference for a less ideological party, focusing more on finding solutions for people’s problems.
Today, the new IL leader Mariana Leitão called on the party to abandon internal disputes and turn its strength “outward,” emphasizing that the opponents are in the “installed regime” and “in the machine that perpetuates stagnation.”
Lusa | 21:01 – 19/07/2025
Cotrim Figueiredo’s indication of his availability for a presidential candidacy during his address to the Convention, later confirmed in statements to the media, was a highlight of the liberal assembly’s proceedings.
“I have not decided to run. I’ve decided to be available and now there are contacts that become possible to make, which weren’t possible before, allowing me to arrive at a final decision soon,” said the former IL leader between 2019 and 2023.
Eurodeputy João Cotrim Figueiredo stated today that he is open to a presidential candidacy but noted that the decision “is not made” and depends on support from entities beyond IL, which he did not specify.
Lusa | 18:38 – 19/07/2025
Cotrim Figueiredo also marked the farewell of Rui Rocha’s leadership, who, in his final speech as the liberals’ president, said that his resignation was a “political decision” and not a personal one, further asserting that the criticisms voiced by “relevant voices” within the party regarding the electoral results were “absolutely irrelevant to that decision.”
In a party mostly characterized by male contributions, a motion supporting a liberal-leaning feminism was overwhelmingly approved, along with a highly critical motion presented by Filipe Mendonça concerning IL’s direction, asserting that the party “abandoned the center to camp on the right, thinking it would wield power there.”
“We traded the strength of our convictions for imaginary ministries. The result is clear,” he said, also critiquing that in Mariana Leitão’s 56-page thesis, he found “half a page about the land of freedoms” and a “total blackout on social issues.”
Altogether, 18 motions were debated and presented, with only one rejected, contending that the party has given “insufficient attention” to the defense of individual freedoms and calling for rejection of concepts like “gender ideology” or the “woke movement,” and advocating for the protection of “all minorities, including LGBTQIA+”.
Today, IL approved 17 sectorial motions, including one calling for a more active party against hate speech and in defense of feminism, which rejects the government’s proposed nationality law changes.
Lusa | 20:45 – 19/07/2025
In defense of this motion, Sandra Lobo Pimentel accused the party of “leaving kids alone” in the face of hate, abandoning marches it once joined, also pointing out that at previous conventions there was party ‘merchandising’ for sale in rainbow flag colors, which now does not exist.
A recurring critique by various congress participants during the proceedings was the choice of coalition strategy for the local elections held on October 12, particularly agreements to join lists led by PSD.
In the sectorial motions, liberals also approved the motion “Nationality with responsibility – integrate with rules, not delay with fear,” urging the party to reject the extension of the residency period requirement for nationality acquisition to 10 years, as proposed by the government.
Deputy and Vice-President of the Assembly of the Republic Rodrigo Saraiva proposed a motion titled “Foreign policy as a beacon of freedom,” approved by a large majority, rejecting the management of “convenience or mere protocol” in diplomacy.
“It’s not enough to talk about freedom in Lisbon if we turn a blind eye to what’s happening in Tbilisi, Kabul, Havana, or Gaza,” he declared.
