English

Escaping this spiral of militarism requires a break with NATO, which is the cancer of warmongering. Today, it's much clearer to Europeans that NATO is no more protective of them than it was when Russia invaded Ukraine. The US, which shares and plunders Ukraine in tandem with Russia, is threatening Denmark and Canada.

Resolution approved on 23 March by the National Board of the Left Bloc on the European and international situation, marked by the return of the far-right to the presidency of the United States of America.

Speech at the opening of the conference "No Pasaran", held in Lisbon between 19 and 21 April, by Luís Fazenda, member of the Left Bloc and European Left Political Secretariat.

125 nurses from Portugal have signed an open letter of solidarity with the unprecedented strike that, since 15 December, has been promoted by British colleagues in response to more than a decade of disinvestment in the public service and the loss of real wages.

Resolution adopted by the National Bureau of the Left Bloc at its meeting on 3 july 2022.

The Left Bloc's Political Commission states that Portugal should "condemn Putin's military adventure and distance itself from positions of support for the USA and the expansion of NATO". Read the statement here.

The Socialist Party, led by the Portuguese prime minister António Costa, got the Parliamentary absolute majority that he pursued for a long time, with 117 seats out of 230 and 41.7% of the votes.

History shows that Left Bloc has always had the capacity to face difficult moments, and we stand together to shift the present reality.

Over the past days, Portugal has been in the news in the international press. And for one good reason: the bill forbidding bosses to contact workers during their rest time. The American "Vice" magazine stressed that "Portugal has made it illegal for your employer to send you messages after working hours". Yahoo Finance" ran the headline "A simple mistake that could get your boss in trouble". In the British newspapers, like The Guardian, the measure was also highlighted. By José Soeiro 

Despite all the drama surrounding the non-approval of the 2022 State Budget, important steps were taken last week when the Portuguese Parliament approved the proposals on decriminalisation of medically assisted death (euthanasia), on a teleworking regime, and the Climate Framework Law.

While the COP26 summit is taking place in Glasgow, marches were organized all over the world, including in Lisbon and Oporto, to demand concrete measures that the summit and world leaders arenot delivering.

The Socialist Party, moved by economic interests, and with the help of the President of the Republic, has led Portugal into a political crisis that will result in early legislative elections, but such political crisis is “artificial, unnecessary and a trick by Prime Minister António Costa” to obtain an absolute majority, said Catarina Martins, National Coordinator of Left Bloc.

Even before its official approval, ministers, leaders, diplomats and others, were already warning against setting expectations too high for the EU’s real ability to follow up on citizens’ demands. By Luís Fazenda and Marisa Matias.

The Portuguese government has claimed a “duty of neutrality” for refusing to subscribe a joint letter to the European Commission, signed by 17 Member States, condemning the recently approved Hungarian law which is discriminatory against LGBTI+ people. Fabíola Cardoso, MP for Left Bloc, stresses that "Portugal needs to quickly reverse its position.”

Marisa Matias and José Gusmão, MEPs for Left Bloc, have questioned the European Commission after being reported that the main websites of the Portuguese National Health Service (SNS) and other public services are providing data from citizens for the commercial exploitation of Google and other advertising companies.

Catarina Martins, Left Bloc coordinator, and José Soeiro, MP for Left Bloc, presented a proposal that aims to regulate work done through digital platforms: employment contracts, penalties for non-compliant platforms and clarification of the algorithm are the main proposals.

Catarina Martins, Left Bloc coordinator, stated that the Portuguese government must have “a strong position condemning Israel’s attacks” and, while holding the presidency of Council of the European Union, take the necessary measures so that immediate sanctions are applied, in order to stop what is happening in the Gaza Strip.

The victory of teacher and trade unionist Pedro Castillo in the Peruvian presidential election puts a brake on the specter of the corrupt and authoritarian right led by candidate Keiko Fujimori.

Bloco de Esquerda promotes a Social Counter-Summit on the 6th and 7th of May, in the city of Porto, joining those who refuse to face this reality with the fatalism of the complacent and who have contributed to networks of resistance and solidarity against the crisis.

Left Bloc presented a draft resolution in the Portuguese Parliament for the government to defend the waiver in the European Union and for the vaccine to be treated as “a public good with universal access”.