“A few days ago, someone in a debate, a man from the system, told me that utopias are dangerous things. He’s right: they are a danger to those who profit from the system of maximum exploitation we live in. That is why those who have the most invest heavily in those who dismiss utopias to ensure everything remains the same”, criticized Catarina Martins during her speech at the 14th National Convention of the BE in Lisbon.
The presidential candidate for the January elections, who energized the second day of the convention for the left-wing party and was greeted with a standing ovation, criticized those who suggest “if someone stumbles beside us, we should let them fall and walk over them,” asserting that “maximum profit tramples many lives.”
“On the Left, our power lies in knowing that when we reach out to someone stumbling beside us or when we are stumbling, someone reaches out to support us. In that moment, when we hold hands, we lift our eyes from the ground and look each other in the eye. And there is hope because there is empathy, solidarity”, she appealed.
According to the candidate for Belém, “the free, just, and solidary society envisaged in Article 1 of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic still needs to be built,” and “claiming that horizon is our task.”
“That model didn’t fail us, the path to achieve it did. Let’s do it again. Let’s reinvent democracy. Reinvent the country. We must listen and unite forces against exploitation and indecency. We must learn to multiply the best of what we are. This is what we have to do in the country, and this is what we must do on the left,” she urged.
In her speech, Catarina Martins also targeted “the indecent ruffians of parliament,” referring to Chega.
“When some indecent ruffians in Parliament want to decide by surname which children can attend school, I know they do not represent the country we are. The country we are does not select which children to push out of school. The country we are rolls up sleeves to ensure there is school for all children,” she defended.
In the final phase of her address, Catarina Martins paid tribute to the outgoing coordinator, Mariana Mortágua, who succeeded her in 2023: “We do not choose the time we live in, but we choose to walk together. We continue together, thank you.”
Addressing José Manuel Pureza next — who is expected to emerge from this convention as national coordinator — the former coordinator and MEP wished him well.
“Lucky are we to have someone who can speak about Marxism with Pope Francis. Lucky are we to have someone who has dedicated their career to studies for peace in these times,” she praised.
