The Portuguese Workers' Communist Party/Re-Organized Movement of the Party of the Proletariat ( pt, Partido Comunista dos Trabalhadores Portugueses/Movimento Reorganizativo do Partido do Proletariado, PCTP/MRPP) is a Maoist political party in Portugal.

History and overview

The party was founded in 1970 with the name 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 The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...

, especially among students in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

. 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 José Manuel Durão Barroso and

Fernando Rosas Fernando José Mendes Rosas (born 18 April 1946, in Lisbon) is a Portuguese historian, professor, and politician. Early life and education Rosas was born on 18 April 1946. He studied at Pedro Nunes secondary school, and in 1961, he joined t ...

, 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 The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

, a belief that was fueled by cooperation between the MRPP and the Socialist Party against the

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

program defended by the Portuguese Communist Party. The party's youth wing, now extinct, was the Marxist–Leninist Students Federation, to which José Manuel Durão Barroso, a future Prime Minister from the centre-right

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

, briefly belonged. The party entered a phase of internal turmoil following the 2015 legislative elections, with its leader António 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. Despite this, the party contested the 2017 local elections, gaining 12,387 votes (0.24%) but losing the two council seats they held. On 22 February 2019 Arnaldo Matos, founder and leader of the PCTP/MRPP since 1970, died.

Election results

Assembly of the Republic

¹ PCTP-MRPP had only presented lists to 9 electoral circles

European Parliament

Notes

References

External links

Homepage of PCTP/MRPP
{{Authority control 1970 establishments in Portugal Communist parties in Portugal Maoist parties Maoist organizations in Europe Organisations based in Lisbon Political parties established in 1970 Political parties in Portugal Far-left political parties