In the closing session of the Socialism Forum 2025, which concluded today in Coimbra, the university professor and candidate for the Municipal Council of Coimbra criticized Paulo Rangel as “ridiculous” for allegedly stating that the Bloco has never done anything for the Palestinian cause.
“No matter how much he lies, everyone knows that Rangel is the face of the permanent excuses for Portugal not recognizing Palestine and the denial of genocide practices in Gaza, even against the evaluation of the International Court of Justice,” stated José Manuel Pureza.
On the contrary, the former Bloco deputy emphasized that the Bloco was the first “a long time ago” to propose the recognition of the State of Palestine.
“I note that the always-agitated reaction of Paulo Rangel was to accuse the Bloco of supposedly never having done anything for Palestine, while he is portrayed as the champion of this cause. If ridicule were taxed, the taxation of Paulo Rangel would be enough to correct the chronic underfunding of the SNS [National Health Service],” José Manuel Pureza remarked ironically.
During the two days of the 2025 edition of the Socialism Forum, the trip of national coordinator Mariana Mortágua to Gaza, on the humanitarian flotilla that departed from Barcelona, Spain towards the Palestinian territory today, was frequently highlighted by participants.
A live intervention via video call from the BE leader was planned but was canceled due to communication difficulties with the boat, replaced by a short pre-recorded video of just over a minute.
Accompanied on the same vessel by the former Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, Mariana Mortágua expressed hope to reach Gaza within the next two weeks.
“We are very hopeful of breaking through the [Israeli] blockade of Gaza because the support we received in Barcelona was incredible. Thousands of people supported the departure of these boats, there are dozens of nationalities involved, and I hope they can follow this journey in the coming days,” she declared.
In a second video message, broadcast today and recorded specifically for the Socialism Forum, Mariana Mortágua described Gaza as “the moral compass of our times.”
Addressing national political issues, she remarked that the Palácio de São Bento “is occupied by the most dangerous government of our country,” and, while forecasting “difficult times” for the left, noted that the Bloco “wants to grow.”
“It’s a gigantic task we set for ourselves, but there’s no other way,” noted the BE coordinator.
Among the topics the Bloco aims to discuss is the already announced proposal for a parliamentary inquiry commission on aerial means and firefighting, the start of the school year, anticipating “a disaster,” the new labor legislation, and one of the party’s electoral flagships—a law setting a maximum cap on housing rents—whose proposal, she assured, will be submitted to Parliament.
The Socialism Forum 2025 was considered by José Manuel Pureza as the largest ever, with 651 registrants participating in 43 debates with 61 interventions, he said.
