The resumption of the major meeting, which began on Saturday at the Casal Vistoso municipal pavilion in Lisbon, is scheduled for 9:30 AM this Sunday, following a first day dedicated to the discussion of guidance motions.
The most anticipated speech is by José Manuel Pureza who, on Saturday, stated that the party “must change to grow” and advocated “all dialogues” so that the left can regain initiative and strength.
At 12:00 PM, the results of the candidacies for the National Board and the Rights Commission will be announced, with lists presented by four of the five motions debated at the major meeting.
Motion A, aligned with the current leadership and headed by Pureza, is expected to emerge victorious from this convention as it elected the overwhelming majority of delegates (498).
The list presented by Pureza’s motion to the National Board—the highest authority between conventions—includes several names of continuity as well as new entries, from newcomers to returnees, in a party-assumed attempt at renewal with an average age of 37 years.
José Manuel Pureza leads this list, followed by Isabel Pires, former parliamentary leader Fabian Figueiredo, Marisa Matias, and Mariana Mortágua (who bid farewell to coordination and leaves the leadership but remains at the highest authority between conventions).
In terms of continuity, the list to the Board includes names like Joana Mortágua, José Soeiro, presidential candidate Catarina Martins, Pedro Filipe Soares, Jorge Costa, Adriano Campos, and Andreia Galvão (who recently replaced Mortágua in parliament), among others.
Mariana Mortágua, who served as coordinator for two years, bid farewell on the first day acknowledging mistakes, but rejecting that they were “determinant.”
The outgoing coordinator urged the party to change internally without giving up its causes and warned the “radicalized and aggressive right” that they won’t rid themselves of the bloc.
The first day of work was marked by several alerts from leaders and internal opponents about the need for BE to decentralize decisions, listen to the bases, value militant work, and reorganize—with strong warnings particularly from founder Fernando Rosas.
Attempting to address some of these criticisms, Motion A presented a new tripartite model at the convention: besides the coordinator (a position not formally recognized in the statutes), BE’s political organization will also involve the role of a deputy in the Assembly of the Republic and the creation of a new position, the “organization secretary,” to be occupied by Isabel Pires.
The closing session begins at 12:30 PM and, as usual, will feature representatives from other political forces.
