Bloquist supporters of motion A, previously led by Mariana Mortágua, gathered in Coimbra on Sunday. Miguel Cardina announced that José Manuel Pureza will be nominated as the party’s coordinator.
“This is the proposal that motion A will present for the coordinator of the Bloco de Esquerda,” he told reporters, adding that José Manuel Pureza is “a person who possesses a series of qualities that equip him for this phase of the Bloco.”
According to the lists approved this afternoon, José Manuel Pureza is the first candidate for the National Committee (the highest body between conventions) and the Political Commission (the body ensuring daily management).
The leader of the most voted list at the National Convention (scheduled for November 29 and 30) usually assumes the coordinator role—a position not formally existing in the party’s statutes.
José Manuel Marques da Silva Pureza, 66, was born in Coimbra and was first elected as a deputy for this electoral district in 2009, serving until 2011, then from 2015 to 2019 and finally from 2019 to 2022.
During this period, he served as a parliamentary leader and became Vice-President of the Assembly of the Republic. He is currently a member of the Bloco’s National Committee and this year ran for the Coimbra City Council.
Second on the list for the National Committee is Isabel Pires, followed by former parliamentary leader Fabian Figueiredo, Marisa Matias, and João Curvêlo, who is currently not part of this body.
Mariana Mortágua is sixth on the list, which includes other acting members like Joana Mortágua, José Soeiro, presidential candidate Catarina Martins, Pedro Filipe Soares, Jorge Costa, Adriano Campos, or Andreia Galvão, who recently replaced Mortágua in parliament, among others.
From a total of 80 names, new candidacies emerge for the Committee, including former MEP Anabela Rodrigues, and bloquists like Daniel Borges, Lisbon councilor Carolina Serrão, António Soares, Joana Neiva, or Maria Escaja, a municipal deputy in the capital.
The list for the Political Commission, also headed by José Manuel Pureza, sees the exit of the current coordinator Mariana Mortágua (who is only running for the National Committee), as well as central figures who still belong to this body but are not seeking re-election, such as Jorge Costa, José Gusmão, Leonor Rosas, Pedro Filipe Soares, or Moisés Ferreira.
Several leaders already part of the management, like Fabian Figueiredo, Isabel Pires, Catarina Martins, Andreia Galvão, Joana Mortágua, José Soeiro, Marisa Matias, and Miguel Cardina, are running again.
Among the candidate names not currently in the management are bloquists like Bruno Góis, Daniel Borges, João Curvêlo, Mafalda Brilhante, or António Soares, among others, making up a total of 11.
The list for the Rights Commission is led by Bárbara Ranito.
Besides motion ‘A,’ which gathers about 600 supporters, four opposition texts were presented at the 14th National Convention of BE, pointing out a lack of internal democracy and calling for more attention to the grassroots.
It should be noted that the current Bloco leader, Mariana Mortágua, announced she would not seek re-election on the 25th of October. Mortágua admitted that the “renewal” during her tenure was insufficient. She added she was stepping down because she believed “the Bloco would benefit from having people with better conditions” in coordination and in Parliament than those she currently perceives.
[Updated at 19:48]
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