“Our times demand a clear rejection of sectarianism and a joining of forces not only to combat the right-wing offensive but also to counter it with a counteroffensive of rights,” stated Pureza during the closing speech of the XIV National Convention, which concluded today at the Casal Vistoso Pavilion in Lisbon.
Advocating for a “left of bridges” that knows how to dialogue, Pureza emphasized priorities such as health, housing, solidarity with Palestine, the climate emergency, the fight against domestic violence, and “support for workers who unionize and organize.”
After 26 years of existence and a reduced electoral presence with only one parliamentary mandate, BE undertook self-criticism during this convention. Leaders and delegates, both internal critics and outgoing directors, acknowledged the need for changes or demanded them.
In response, the new coordinator promised to be “the first to listen to the entire party, across the country,” asserting confidence that all members, “regardless of their sensitivity or tendency, will unite on this path.”
A closer communication “to the people,” openness to grassroots participation in decision-making processes, more internal organization to increase the presence and “social rooting” of BE were aspects most highlighted during the meeting.
Faced with the erosion of militancy and the support base, BE risks irrelevance, summarized on Saturday by former deputy and former party leader João Teixeira Lopes, warning that, in addition to new faces, BE needs to change practices.
Regarding new faces, Jorge Costa, Pedro Filipe Soares, José Gusmão, and Mariana Mortágua leave the central core but remain in the National Board, the highest body between Conventions, where new names were elected today with the goal of renewal and rejuvenation.
Despite critical voices regarding the strategy, both in terms of organization and political priorities, the votes confirmed that an overwhelming majority of delegates expressed confidence in a single list.
Bloquista José Manuel Pureza was elected coordinator with his motion winning 65 of the 80 seats on the National Board, only two less than Mortágua’s previous leadership.
The “organization battle,” as founder Fernando Rosas referred to it, will be handled by Isabel Pires, from the extinct UDP, a former deputy elected by Porto and Lisbon, aged 34, who was already part of the previous leadership and will be tasked with “tidying the house.”
“There is only class struggle with militant organization, with activity nuclei where learning, decision-making, and action occur,” recognized another founder, Francisco Louçã, who called for “ant-like persistence.”
The changes demanded at the XIV Convention were not limited to form. Several proponents of critical motions defended the “centrality of work” in BE’s politics, beyond “identity causes.”
Mariana Mortágua, who bid farewell to leadership “with pride and no regrets,” had appealed on the first day of proceedings for the party not to forget causes such as feminism or the fight against racism.
Isabel Pires, taking on organizational roles in the new leadership, rallied the room with her call for “everyone to the general strike” and defined the “immediate task” of the party as defeating the “labor package.”
At the end of a morning dominated by criticism of internal functioning and lamentations over the erosion of militancy, Isabel Pires stated that “everyone is needed,” announced a “training program,” and promised more connection with grassroots nuclei and members for “a more open Bloc.”
