The Socialist Party (PS) refuted claims on Friday that a party member from Barreiro is linked to extremist groups, stating that the individual concerned left the party last year.
In a statement, the PS clarified that the “individual in question ceased to be a member of the Socialist Party on October 16, 2024,” and had never held “any municipal or executive position on behalf of the Socialist Party.”
Moreover, according to the statement, “up to the date of her disaffiliation, no indications, public signs, or behaviors associated with extremism or ideologies contrary to the values of the Socialist Party were known to the Barreiro municipal structure.”
The issue arose from a report published on Thursday by Diário do Distrito, which claimed Vanda Rute Silva Loureiro is part of the far-right group 1143, which has organized protests against immigration.
The newspaper reported that Vanda was invited to join the PS Barreiro political committee’s list while she was dating MP André Pinotes Batista, becoming radicalized after their separation. Subsequently, attacks and criticisms of the socialists became frequent on her social media.
According to a statement sent to newsrooms late Friday by the PS, Vanda Rute Silva Loureiro left the party through a “formal request of her own, with the process properly recorded in the Party’s services.”
Thus, the PS Barreiro municipal structure “has already submitted a request for a right of reply” and will report the incident to the Regulatory Authority for the Media (ERC) and file a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) “to restore the truth and safeguard the good name of the Party and its leaders.”
“The Socialist Party reaffirms its total intransigence towards any form of extremism, racism, or hate speech, values that are absolutely incompatible with its history, identity, and democratic commitment,” reads the same clarification.
