Catarina Martins announced on Tuesday that she will leave the leadership of the Left Block (BE).
During a press conference on the party’s National Convention, scheduled for May 27-28 in Lisbon, Catarina Martins stated that she is not running for BE leadership again.
“During the 10 years that I had the position of coordinating the bloc, starting with João Semedo, who I want to remember and honor and who was fundamental in this journey, we had victories and defeats,” he began by saying.
He recalled “a heavy electoral defeat a year ago” and “electoral victories like in 2015 and 2019”, in which BE achieved “best results” and maintained “best results ever”. “Victories and defeats also in movements, in laws, in social struggles,” he said.
“These victories and defeats are an important part of our struggle, but what should guide us is determination and coherence and our commitment to the people,” he defended.
Catarina Martins viewed her 10 years at the head of the BE as “an extraordinary time”, during which the party “put the right out of the government”.
The party’s internal opposition had already called for a total renewal. “Political professionalization in the bloc is not good, it is not desirable. They cannot be the same faces for so long,” Rui Cortes, a member of the National Bureau and one of the elements of Convergence, told DN in the 6 edition February. . [oposição interna].
“The bloc has lost its matrix. There is an exodus of its principles. There is a perpetuation of power. A lack of internal democracy,” summarized Rui Cortes, who called for the “global renewal of the deputies”, the “renewal of the cadres” of the party and of the “secretariat perpetuated in time”.
In the “present state of the Bloco de Esquerda”, even that which was “one of the flags of the Bloco, the renewal of deputies, was lost”. “Innovation is essential.”
The party’s National Council met on February 4, and Catarina Martins declined to speak about removal scenarios, justifying that “it wouldn’t make sense for [ela] talk about candidacies today. [Terão] other ways to do this.”
In addition to “other problems”, says Rui Cortes, there is a “lack of demarcation with respect to the PS”. And he gives as an example the cases of the most recent municipal and legislative elections: “It was to see Catarina [Martins] one week he says one thing and the next week he says another. Sometimes dating PS, sometimes criticizing PS. It’s a total blur.”
The also professor at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, with a doctorate in forest sciences, also accuses the management of Catarina Martins of “trying to reduce diversity within the BE” because they have “adapted”.
“They feel the danger of losing what they have acquired. That’s where the tension comes from. They try to stop diversity by limiting participation in the National Convention of the different sensibilities that are out there and critical of what is happening Instead of reflection, they perpetuate themselves in power,” he says.
The example to justify this “brake”, he guarantees, is “the decision” of the Secretariat to “raise the minimum number of subscribers from 20 to 200” of the motions – the alternative motion of the Convergence [oposição interna]will be released on February 27.
The leader of the Bloco de Esquerda, for its part, guaranteed right after the meeting of the National Council that “the Convention processes are very participative, we are going to hold several debates within the party to create orientation motions and very soon this movement will move forward , we will be here for any questions about this, to present the projects for the block, for the future.”
And that’s because, he explained at the time, “that’s how it should be. Today I am the coordinator of the political committee in office, with all its sensibilities, with majorities and minorities and that’s what I represent”.
Immediately after losing more than half of the votes [de 500 mil para 244 mil] in legislative elections, the reduction of 19 to five deputies [Mariana Mortágua, Pedro Filipe Soares, Catarina Martins, José Soeiro e Joana Mortágua] and the loss of the place of the third political force [que ficou com o Chega]the internal opposition in the BE tried to anticipate the National Convention, but was refused – 130 militants wanted to analyze the bloc’s situation and even allowed internal elections.
At the time, management said that advancing the Convention, based on the election result, would jeopardize the regulatory deadlines for internal debate, which would be a great favor to the PS, which had just won an absolute majority.
With the set date (“months away from the Madeira Regionals and about a year away from the European and Azores Regionals. Curious, isn’t it?”) And also because “the National Secretariat, which runs the party, refuses so far to allow the to take stock of the cycle of electoral defeats and to draw political consequences,” another opposition leader said it was time to carry out “this reflection”.
“We must make a major effort to compensate for the discredit caused by the lack of internal democracy and a parliamentary political discourse without horizon,” he wondered.
Former leaders, heard by DN, admitted there were “difficulties in entrenching the BE in the electorate”, a “weariness in Catarina Martins’ leadership and the “problem” of presenting political proposals read as a struggle that can respond to the country’s problems”, but did not advocate leaving this direction.
“The rotation of boys does not replace political projects. It is true that it has been there for a long time, it is true that they are the same, but the polls point to growth. And by the way, already in 2003 it was said that the BE was exhausted. stereotype,” they said.
Mariana Mortágua has been a deputy since 2011; Pedro Filipe Soares and Catarina Martins have been in parliament since 2009; José Soeiro is the eldest, he has been a deputy since 2005; and Joana Mortágua, the most recent: she joined the Assembly of the Republic in 2015.
Source: DN
