José Sena Goulão / Lusa
The new coordinator of the Bloco de Esquerda, José Manuel Pureza
The weekend of the Bloco de Esquerda convention already saw the farewell of the party’s former coordinator, Mariana Mortágua. Enter José Manuel Pureza, who also says change is necessary.
Former BE deputy José Manuel Pureza concludes the work of the party’s 14th Convention today, after the election of new national bodies, from which he will leave as national coordinator for the next two years.
The reopening of the work of the main meeting, which began on Saturday at the Casal Vistoso municipal pavilion, in Lisbon, is scheduled for 9:30 am, after a first day dedicated to discussing the orientation motions.
The most awaited intervention is that of José Manuel Pureza who, on Saturday, considered that the party “has to change to grow” and defended “all dialogues” so that the left regains initiative and strength.
At 12:00, the results of the candidacies for the National Board and the Rights Commission will be announced, with lists presented for four of the five motions that were debated at the main meeting.
Motion A, affecting the current leadership and headed by Pureza, is expected to win this convention as it elected the overwhelming majority of delegates (498).
The list presented by Purity’s motion to the National Board – the highest body between conventions – has several names of continuity but also new entries, between debuts and returns, in an attempt made by the party for renewal and an average age of around 37 years.
José Manuel Pureza is the first name on this list, followed by Isabel Piresthe former parliamentary leader Fabian Figueiredo, Marisa Matias and Mariana Mortágua, (who resigned from the coordination and left the direction but remains in the highest body between conventions).
In the line of continuity, names such as 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.
Mariana Mortágua, who held the position of coordinator for two years, resigned on the first day of work, admitting mistakes, but rejecting that they had been “determining”.
The coordinator asked the party to change internally, without giving up its causes, and, externally, she warned the “radicalized and stupid right” that doesn’t get rid of the blockers.
The first day of work was marked by several warnings, from leaders and internal opponents, about the need for BE to decentralize decisions, listen to the bases, give more importance to militant work and reorganize – highlighting strong warnings from the founder Fernando Rosas.
In an attempt to respond to some of these criticisms, motion A presented a new tripartite model at the convention: in addition to the coordinator (a figure that does not formally exist in the statutes), the political organization of the BE will also take on the role of deputy in the Assembly of the Republic and the creation of a new figurethat of “secretary of the organization”, which will be occupied by Isabel Pires.
The closing begins at 12:30 pm and will be attended, as usual, by representatives of other political forces.
