“In case of elections, Bernardo Blanco will lead a unifying list to the National Council. The goal is to show a party capable of renewing itself and working together,” reads a statement by the former deputy.
Bernardo Blanco was a deputy for IL between 2022 and 2025 and chose not to join the party’s lists for the legislative elections held on May 18, citing personal reasons. At the last IL Convention in February, the former deputy presented his own list to the National Council, which received the most votes, with 34% and 18 out of 50 seats.
In the statement, Bernardo Blanco believes that following the resignation of IL leader Rui Rocha and his board, the party should “move forward to elections for all bodies as soon as possible.”
“The objective should be clear: by the end of July, have a revitalized party, with new energy, fully focused on the local elections challenge,” asserts Bernardo Blanco, stating that if the party opts for internal elections, he will lead a list to the National Council again.
For this list, Bernardo Blanco promises “to engage with individuals from all lists presented to the National Council in the last elections,” aiming to build “a strong, unifying, and positive campaign-focused candidacy.”
The former deputy considers IL is experiencing “a demanding political moment, with elections on the horizon,” referencing the fall local elections, and believes that the party “now has the necessary maturity to build a joint solution, based on broad and representative lists for all bodies.”
“This spirit of collaboration and unity will be fundamental for the party’s local branches to work towards an excellent result in four months,” he argues.
Bernardo Blanco sees IL having a “unique media opportunity” at the next convention, potentially delivering “an unequivocal demonstration of unity, plurality, and ambition.”
“A party capable of renewing itself and working together, a party ready to win many liberal mandates in October,” he refers to the local elections.
Regarding the principles that will guide his potential list to the National Council, Blanco says that since the candidacy he presented six months ago at the February convention, “little has changed in the party’s life,” so the principles he defended then remain.
Among these principles, the former deputy argues that IL should stand out “by boldly and clearly fighting for the reduction of the state and combating the political occupation of the state’s apparatus.”
“IL should publicly address issues such as security and justice, offering a moderate response to these legitimate citizen concerns that should not be left to the extremes,” he further asserts.
For Bernardo Blanco, IL should also “be able to bring topics like social mobility and economic growth back to the center of public debate.”
