The Bloco regrets all member departures. This is a time to unite, strengthen debate and cooperation, not a time for abandonment, sectarianism, or fragmentation on the left,” stated a party press release.
Reacting to over one hundred militants from Santarém announcing their departure from the party, the BE’s core group stated, “Of the 89 official requests for disaffiliation received, two-thirds originate from the Salvaterra de Magos council.”
“This departure is part of a series of planned disaffiliations by the former internal faction Convergência, following their decision to leave the Bloco de Esquerda. The first such announcement was made three months ago, launched in the name of a group of adherents from Portalegre,” it noted.
According to the bloquist Secretariat, this wave of disaffiliations, “like others to follow, was long planned and announced by the Convergência faction and continues even after the National Board’s decision to restart the Convention process so that, given the new political scenario, all opinions and internal currents can present themselves as alternatives.” An official party source indicated that since the legislative elections of May 18, there have been 122 departures from the BE and 452 requests for “entry or reentry.”
More than a hundred BE militants from Santarém, including former member of the Assembly of the Republic Carlos Matias, announced their departure today, criticizing the post-geringonça political strategy and accusing the leadership of distancing critics and adopting practices that “would shame many employers.”
The XIV Convention of the BE is scheduled for November 29 and 30.
Following the electoral defeat that reduced the party’s parliamentary representation from five to a single deputy, coordinator Mariana Mortágua, the National Board decided to open a new period for submitting candidacies to the national bodies, as this convention was already scheduled for an earlier date.
