The coordinator of the Bloco de Esquerda (BE), Mariana Mortágua, announced on Saturday that she will not run for re-election as the party’s leader, stating that it might “benefit from other people, other voices” both in its coordination and in the Assembly of the Republic, which she will soon leave. After sending a letter to members, Mortágua held a press conference at the BE’s national headquarters in Lisbon, where she clarified the decision. The choice of new national bodies now falls to BE members.
In her letter, Mortágua acknowledged that the leadership under her guidance was unable to “generate a new political and electoral momentum.”
“Given this assessment and now that I am completing the mandate granted to me at the last Convention, I inform you that I have decided not to run for another term as coordinator of the Bloco de Esquerda”, was stated in a letter sent to members and obtained by Lusa.
Later, the current coordinator announced she will also leave her mandate in the Assembly of the Republic after the budgetary process, at the end of November, and refrained from discussing “any decision about the future” of the party.
“I intend to complete the budgetary process I started and then leave Parliament”, Mariana Mortágua stated at a press conference in BE’s national headquarters, Lisbon.
New Leader? “It’s a decision that is not mine to make”
When asked about the profile of the next party leader and whether it’s advantageous to have the same person both in that position and in Parliament, as BE only has one deputy, Mariana Mortágua declined to give her opinion.
“That decision is not mine to make, it’s up to the Bloco de Esquerda, its members, and its next leadership. This is the process starting or continuing now, in preparation for the BE’s Convention”, she replied, referring to the significant meeting scheduled for the 29th and 30th of November.
Pressured to leave? Thoughtful reflection and “personal” decision
Regarding what changed to make this decision, Mariana Mortágua explained that she began considering a possible departure after the legislative elections in May, where the party endured its worst result ever in such a vote, going from five to a single deputy.
Mortágua rejected the notion that her decision was influenced or pressured by any commentator’s articles, after former member Daniel Oliveira published an opinion piece in the newspaper Expresso advocating for her departure.
“This reflection started on the day of the Legislative results. But I considered, and still consider, it would be irresponsible to make a rash decision without reflection, leaving the Bloco in a void until a convention scheduled for November”, she argued.
Mortágua stated she made her reflection “with time and consideration”.
The BE leader noted that “at the end of a period with an absolute majority that fell with a bang a few years ago”, led by António Costa’s PS, “and with the rise of the Right, particularly the far-right and its influence in Portuguese politics, the Left needed a new impulse”.
“The Left needed to have this new impulse to combat the Right, broaden its social space, and also reverse a reduction in its electoral space. I believe these goals were not met and I take responsibility for this reflection and the conclusion I draw”, she maintained.
Mortágua believed that her party might benefit from having “other people, other faces, other voices” at this moment, both in coordination and in the Assembly of the Republic.
“This is a personal decision, as it only can be. The decision about the Bloco’s future, that is a collective decision, and it will take place at the next BE convention, emerging from the debate, firstly among the various motions that are candidates at the Convention and then within the Convention itself”, she emphasized.
Regarding her future, Mariana Mortágua stated that “stepping away from political life is an impossibility” and promised to be available to work within the party and “build the Left”.
“I am also part of that future, though not as the coordinator of the Bloco de Esquerda. Not at this moment as coordinator, and not in the future as a deputy”, she declared.
The coordinator of the Bloco de Esquerda, Mariana Mortágua, mentioned that she believes the party could “benefit from other people, other voices” both in coordination and in the Assembly of the Republic. She also revealed that after the State Budget, she will no longer be a member of Parliament.
Maria Gouveia with Lusa | 18:25 – 25/10/2025
Bloco de Esquerda elects successor at the end of November
The 14th National Convention of Bloco de Esquerda, scheduled for November 29 and 30 with five motions under debate, assumes new importance with Mariana Mortágua’s end of cycle.
The member was the first proposer of the ‘A’ orientation motion, entitled “Resist to Turn the Game”, in which Mortágua acknowledged mistakes and handled a “reconfiguring militant party”, following its worst ever electoral result in May’s legislative elections, which led the party to have a single representation in Parliament.
Now, with Mortágua’s departure, it will be up to the endorsers of motion ‘A’ to decide on their proposal for coordination and which list they will present to form the National Bureau.
National Bureau meets today
The National Bureau of Bloco de Esquerda meets today to analyze the municipal and presidential elections, a day after Mariana Mortágua announced she won’t run for re-election as the party leader.
The highest body between conventions has on its agenda the “assessment” of BE’s results in the municipal elections on the 12th, where the party still led by Mariana Mortágua could not reverse the declining trend of previous elections.
José Manuel Pureza ‘in line’ for leadership candidacy?
Following Mariana Mortágua’s departure announcement, RTP reported that José Manuel Pureza is among potential coordinators for the party. However, the BE leader and former deputy rejected “hasty scenarios”.
Speaking to Lusa, the former vice-president of Parliament stressed that “a democratic party not only accommodates different visions but strengthens from these differences”.
“In the Bloco, each motion will present its political orientation proposal and leadership solution at the National Convention. Within the motion I subscribe to, there are several people with great capacity to coordinate the Bloco”, he said.
BE coordinator Mariana Mortágua announced today that she will not run again for the leadership of the party, considering that the leadership under her was unable to “generate a new political and electoral momentum”.
Lusa | 18:39 – 25/10/2025
The Path
Mariana Mortágua, 39, an economist, was elected BE’s national coordinator in May 2023 at the party’s last national convention, succeeding Catarina Martins, the current candidate for the Presidency of the Republic, supported by the bloc.
In the legislative elections of this May, BE experienced its worst ever result in such elections, dropping from five parliamentary seats to just one, and in this month’s municipal elections, it went from five councillors and 94 municipal deputies to one councillor in Lisbon and a total of 17 deputies in councils and parishes. In BE’s list for the Lisbon electoral district in the last Legislative elections, Fabian Figueiredo, a former BE parliamentary leader, appears in second place.
Third is Andreia Galvão, who recently replaced the coordinator in Parliament while participating in a flotilla aiming to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, followed by Ackssana Rodrigues da Silva in fourth and BE’s core leader Jorge Costa in fifth.
