“I want to present something different from the usual problems. António José Seguro represents the usual problems. He represents the center that has always colluded to pursue a policy that has ended up depriving the working class, those who build this country, of their capacity. And I am not in that consensus,” argued Catarina Martins in an interview.
The former coordinator of the Left Bloc responded to statements made by Vasco Lourenço, an April captain, who called for a convergence of votes on the left for António José Seguro—who received the official support of the PS this weekend, the party he once led—urging Catarina Martins and the communist António Filipe to withdraw from the race.
“I do not think the country’s problems will be solved by either disinvesting in public services or cutting the pay of workers. I believe we can look at problems in a different way and find new solutions, and we need them. Therefore, I have great respect for Vasco Lourenço, but that appeal makes no sense,” said the MEP.
Asked whether she would consider withdrawing in any scenario, Catarina Martins responded: “I am presenting my candidacy because I take this path seriously. I want to be President of Portugal.”
Regarding whether her candidacy might contribute to a dispersion of votes on the left, Catarina Martins asserted, “There is a leftist space that does not give up on all rights, that does not give up on a better country, on a stronger community, on solidarity between generations” which, in her opinion, “was not represented in the presidential race.”
“And I am here to represent that space and to gather forces and mobilize,” she stated, considering it would be “very sad” if this vision were not present in the presidential debates, leading to “a dull campaign that would weaken democracy.”
“And I also very honestly believe that a woman is needed in this election campaign,” she emphasized.
Admitting that running for President of the Republic was not in her plans after being elected as an MEP last year, and that she would not have proceeded if Sampaio da Nóvoa had decided to run, Catarina Martins responded to António Filipe who, in an interview, criticized her for this, considering that, unlike the Left Bloc member, he is not “a second option.”
“I noted that António Filipe criticized me for not having advanced before trying all the paths to convergence. He is absolutely right. But convergence is achieved with those who want to converge. And I respect everyone’s position, but mine is that it is indeed necessary to talk with the country, to build bridges, and that is a strong part of how I understand this path,” she emphasized.
In the view of the Left Bloc member, a “broad mobilization of sectors of the left” is needed towards convergence and not just the “affirmation of one’s political space.”
“I think the presidential campaign cannot be about tragedy, the same old things, or a certain nostalgia for what was. It has to be about what solutions we have for today’s problems. And those solutions lie in the field of social progress, and also in the field of ecology, which was not represented, and which I modestly think I can contribute to,” she argued.
In the electoral race, Catarina Martins only sees opponents who “brought us to the crises we have.”
“I look at Marques Mendes, from the PSD, or António José Seguro, who supported Passos Coelho. In fact, he now also has the support of those aligned with Passos Coelho. I look at an admiral [Gouveia e Melo] who brings nothing new regarding the country’s crises. In fact, unable to talk about the country’s crises. Or even André Ventura, who was also with Passos Coelho during the ‘troika’ period,” she criticized.
Facing a “very self-contained debate,” the Left Bloc member considered that “another voice was needed” and wants politics to stop talking only about itself and to talk more about the country’s issues, such as inflation, education, and health.
