Communist political party in Portugal
The
Portuguese Workers' Communist Party/Re-Organized Movement of the Party of the Proletariat
(
Portuguese
:
Partido Comunista dos Trabalhadores Portugueses/Movimento Reorganizativo do Partido do Proletariado
,
PCTP/MRPP
)
[a]
is a
Maoist
political party
in
Portugal
.
History and overview
[
edit
]
The party was founded in 1970 as the
Movimento Reorganizativo do Partido do Proletariado
(MRPP), led by Arnaldo de Matos. It changed its name to the Portuguese Workers' Communist Party in 1976.
The PCTP-MRPP has held a
Maoist
political orientation since its foundation. In 1971, the party began to publish a newspaper called "
Luta Popular"
(People's Struggle), directed by Saldanha Sanches. The party was among the most active resistance movements before the
Carnation Revolution
, especially among students in
Lisbon
. After the revolution, the MRPP achieved fame for its large murals. The party became intensely active during 1974 and 1975. At that time, the party boasted members who later became important political figures, including
Jose Manuel Durao Barroso
and
Fernando Rosas
, who subsequently left the party. The party, however, never managed to elect a single Member of Parliament in legislative elections.
During the revolutionary period of 1974 and 1975, the MRPP was accused by the
Portuguese Communist Party
of being an agent of the
CIA
, a belief that was fueled by cooperation between the MRPP and the
Socialist Party
against the
communist
program defended by the
Portuguese Communist Party
.
[
citation needed
]
The party's youth wing, now extinct, was the
Marxist?Leninist Students Federation
, to which
Jose Manuel Durao Barroso
, a future Prime Minister from the centre-right
Social Democratic Party
, briefly belonged.
The party entered a phase of internal turmoil following the
2015 legislative elections
, with its leader
Antonio Garcia Pereira
leaving the party. Details about the internal functioning of the party became difficult to obtain, since none of the official contacts responded to contacts, and even the official headquarters seemed to no longer be functioning. An extraordinary congress was announced, but it is unknown if it really happened. Some sources claim the party is now operating at a clandestine level.
[
citation needed
]
Despite this, the party contested the
2017 local elections
, gaining 12,387 votes (0.24%) but losing the two council seats they held.
[1]
On 22 February 2019
Arnaldo Matos
, founder and leader of the PCTP/MRPP since 1970, died.
[2]
Election results
[
edit
]
Assembly of the Republic
[
edit
]
Election
|
Leader
|
Votes
|
%
|
Seats
|
+/-
|
Government
|
1976
|
Arnaldo Matos
|
36,200
|
0.7 (#7)
|
|
|
No seats
|
1979
|
53,268
|
0.9 (#8)
|
|
0
|
No seats
|
1980
|
35,409
|
0.6 (#11)
|
|
0
|
No seats
|
1983
|
20,995
|
0.4 (#9)
|
|
0
|
No seats
|
1985
|
19,943
|
0.3 (#9)
|
|
0
|
No seats
|
1987
|
20,800
|
0.4 (#11)
|
|
0
|
No seats
|
1991
|
Antonio Garcia Pereira
|
48,542
|
0.9 (#7)
|
|
0
|
No seats
|
1995
|
41,137
|
0.7 (#5)
|
|
0
|
No seats
|
1999
|
40,006
|
0.7 (#6)
|
|
0
|
No seats
|
2002
|
36,193
|
0.7 (#6)
|
|
0
|
No seats
|
2005
|
48,186
|
0.8 (#6)
|
|
0
|
No seats
|
2009
|
52,784
|
0.9 (#6)
|
|
0
|
No seats
|
2011
|
62,683
|
1.1 (#6)
|
|
0
|
No seats
|
2015
|
59,995
|
1.1 (#8)
|
|
0
|
No seats
|
2019
|
Cidalia Guerreiro
|
36,118
|
0.7 (#11)
|
|
0
|
No seats
|
2022
|
13,016
|
0.2 (#11)
|
|
0
|
No seats
|
2024
|
15,499
|
0.2 (#13)
|
|
0
|
No seats
|
European Parliament
[
edit
]
Election
|
Leader
|
Votes
|
%
|
Seats
|
+/-
|
1987
|
|
19,475
|
0.4 (#12)
|
|
|
1989
|
Antonio Garcia Pereira
|
26,682
|
0.6 (#10)
|
|
0
|
1994
|
24,022
|
0.8 (#5)
|
|
0
|
1999
|
30,446
|
0.9 (#6)
|
|
0
|
2004
|
Orlando Alves
|
36,294
|
1.1 (#5)
|
|
0
|
2009
|
42,940
|
1.2 (#7)
|
|
0
|
2014
|
Leopoldo Mesquita
|
54,708
|
1.7 (#8)
|
|
0
|
2019
|
Luis Judice
|
27,223
|
0.8 (#12)
|
|
0
|
See also
[
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]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]