Over two days at the Quinta das Flores Secondary School in Coimbra, the Left Bloc (BE) is holding its traditional political ‘rentrée’ featuring multiple debate panels on various topics, with participation from several party figures, including founders Francisco Louçã, Fernando Rosas, and Luís Fazenda, along with numerous activists.
The event is set to commence this morning with an opening by MEP and former BE leader Catarina Martins and Miguel Cardina.
The closing on Sunday has been adjusted from the original plan as BE coordinator Mariana Mortágua has decided to join the Humanitarian Flotilla to Gaza. Consequently, she will deliver her closing remarks digitally, while José Manuel Pureza, BE’s candidate for Coimbra’s City Hall and former deputy, will speak in person.
Today’s program highlights the participation of MEP and former PS Health Minister Marta Temido, who will discuss “The Future of the European Union,” alongside former BE deputy and MEP Marisa Matias.
On the first day, BE founder and former coordinator Francisco Louçã will address the query ‘Have you seen class struggle on your dinner plate?’, and there will be a session on Artificial Intelligence led by former parliamentary leader and Matosinhos City Council candidate Pedro Filipe Soares.
Fernando Rosas will lead a session titled ‘The Surrender of Liberalism, Past and Present,’ and gender equality activist Paula Cosme Pinto will discuss “From the Manosphere to the Ballot Box: Why Boys Are Voting Right-Wing.”
The day concludes with a session themed ‘Palestine Will Win,’ featuring MEP and former party coordinator Catarina Martins and Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila, who was recently part of a flotilla intended to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and faced imprisonment by Israeli authorities.
Sunday begins with a lecture on security by former BE parliamentary leader Fabian Figueiredo, with Luís Fazenda and José Manuel Pureza addressing ‘Trump and International Disorder,’ while researchers António Brito Guterres and Maria José Oliveira will present ‘O Bemformoso – From Medieval Roots to a Political-Media Ghetto.’
The ‘Socialism Forum’ 2025, organized by the BE and its European family ‘The Left,’ will include representatives from Spain’s Podemos and France’s Unsubmissive France.
