“On the day of the general strike, December 11, while the country is at a standstill, the Liberal Initiative will do what no other party does: promote a debate in the Assembly of the Republic to present proposals that provide answers to people who will be brutally penalized by this unequal system”, stated the president of the Liberal Initiative, Mariana Leitão, during her speech at the 6th National Meeting of Nuclei and Mayors of the Liberal Initiative, which is taking place today in the city of Porto.
The president of the Liberal Initiative asserted that the party seeks to break the cycle of a Portugal with two systems in the labor regime, advocating that the public and private systems should converge into a single system.
“We want a more open and plural Social Concertation, with new voices and new solutions. We want clear rules for strikes, with real minimum services that protect the right to protest without destroying the right of those who need to work, study, or receive healthcare. And we want convergence between labor regimes, bringing the public and private sectors closer, simplifying the system and giving autonomy to leaders so that the state functions better.”
Mariana Leitão advocates for a labor regime that is not “stuck” to a model “that no longer serves anyone,” noting that the two major trade union confederations that dominate Social Concertation today represent “only about 7% of Portuguese workers, but continue to exert disproportionate power over decisions affecting 100% of the workforce.”
“Absent are young workers, the self-employed, digital economy professionals, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers who do not identify with traditional unions, and emerging sectors that are already essential for Portugal’s economic future. Without those voices, we continue to negotiate the future based on past models.”
With criticisms of the “historical, organic, and public connection to the PCP” of the CGTP and the “historical proximity to the PS” of the UGT, Mariana Leitão stated that those “who are there today want to keep everything exactly as it is, even if the world advances, even if the economy changes, even if workers need new answers.”
“As long as Social Concertation remains captured by those who live in the past, Portugal will continue to be trapped in the past. We refuse that. We want to open the door to the future. […] That’s how we take real steps to end this country divided into two [public and private systems]. And that’s how we ensure that Portugal moves forward, instead of being stuck in a model that no longer serves anyone.”
The Liberal Initiative states that Portugal cannot continue living between cyclical ruptures of “either everything stops, or nothing changes,” and defends the “guarantee of effective minimum services, because the right to strike cannot annul citizens’ rights.”
Mariana Leitão was speaking at the 6th National Meeting of Nuclei and Mayors of the Liberal Initiative, taking place today at the Porto Palácio Hotel, in the city of Porto, and was given a standing ovation by several dozen militants and supporters of the party at the end of her speech.
[Updated at 1:10 PM]
