The Portuguese Workers' Communist Party/Re-Organized Movement of the Party of the Proletariat (, PCTP/MRPP) is a

Maoist Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

History and overview

The party was founded in 1970 as the (MRPP), led by Arnaldo de Matos. It changed its name to the Portuguese Workers' Communist Party in 1976. The PCTP-MRPP has held a

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 (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...

, especially among students in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. 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 José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced ...

and

Fernando Rosas Fernando José Mendes Rosas (born 18 April 1946) is a Portuguese historian, professor and politician, being one of the founders of the Left Bloc. Biography Early life and education Rosas was born on 18 April 1946. He studied at Pedro Nu ...

, 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 The Portuguese Communist Party (, , PCP) is a Communism, communist and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist List of political parties in Portugal, political party in Portugal. It is one of the strongest List of communist parties, communist par ...

of being an agent of the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

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

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

against the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

program defended by the

. The party's youth wing, now extinct, was the Marxist–Leninist Students Federation, to which

, 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 Form ...

, briefly belonged. The party entered a phase of internal turmoil following the 2015 legislative elections, with its leader

António Garcia Pereira António Pestana Garcia Pereira (born 14 November 1952) is a Portuguese lawyer, university professor, and politician. Until 2015, he was the best-known member of the Marxist–Leninist PCTP/MRPP - Portuguese Workers' Communist Party/Re-Organiz ...

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 Arnaldo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Arnaldo Abrantes (born 1986), Portuguese track and field sprinter * Arnaldo Alonso (born 1979), Paraguayan footballer * Arnaldo André (born 1943), soap-opera Paraguayan actor * A ...

, founder and leader of the PCTP/MRPP since 1970, died.

Election results

Assembly of the Republic

Presidential

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