The political landscape sees new developments as multiple motions are presented in anticipation of the upcoming major meeting in November. These motions include the ‘A’ motion led by Mariana Mortágua, along with newly released texts: motion ‘B’ titled “Rebuild for a New Political Cycle,” motion ‘C’ “More Bloc, Fewer Trends,” and motion ‘H’ emphasizing “Time to Restart.”
In motion ‘A’, which has over 600 supporters, Mariana Mortágua, representing the current leadership, acknowledges the challenges facing the party post their worst electoral performance this past May, which resulted in a single parliamentary representation.
The leadership attributes the loss of electoral confidence to a “shift to the right” while admitting “own errors.” The motion argues that isolated responses to consistent attacks against the Bloc contributed to ineffective communication, exacerbating public perception issues.
Without external funding, the Bloc must rely heavily on self-financing, stressing the importance of “membership fees, militant efforts, and volunteer work in technical and leadership roles.”
Mortágua aims to enhance internal democracy mechanisms, addressing a major critique from the opposition.
Motion ‘S’, supported by around 90 militants, includes figures such as Adelino Fortunato and former parliament members Heitor Sousa and Alexandra Vieira, who participated in Mortágua’s list to the National Board in 2023. They highlight concerns over potential “ideological dilution” and identify internal democracy deficits as the party’s “main weakness.”
Motion ‘B’, with 36 supporters, points to growing practices that favor centralized power dynamics, advocating for party leadership elections through universal suffrage, “without delegates.”
This motion criticizes the current political strategy as ambiguous, contending it has strayed from foundational principles, citing an excessive alliance with the Socialist Party and a focus on parliamentary-electoral tactics that depleted leftist protest spaces.
Advocating a return to more radical socialist solutions, motion ‘H’ proponents call for the Bloc to reclaim its “anti-system” identity.
They criticize the Bloc’s handling of dissent and propose term limits and rotation in leadership roles, urging the party to be more engaged in grassroots movements and less bound by traditional parliamentary confines.
Motion ‘C’, with 39 supporters, aligns with others in highlighting the lack of internal democracy as crucial. While open to dialogue with motions ‘H’ and ‘S’, they criticize motion ‘S’ and the “Convergence” movement that led to the former motion ‘E’ by Pedro Soares.
Positioning themselves as moderates, these supporters oppose “radicalization,” stressing the need to balance socialist principles with appealing to the wavering voters from the Socialist Party who defected to Livre in recent elections.
They suggest a pre-election coalition with Livre to address “wasted votes” in future elections.
