Portugal has a strong Communist Party, but I wouldn’t expect any significant advances towards socialism any time soon.
Firstly, there has been a substantial anti-communist campaign in the last years. The PCP (Portuguese Communist Party) has been demonized throughout all of the media, to the point where most of the population doesn’t even discuss the Ukrainian war but the PCP’s stance on it (most recent).
Now, everyday workers are far more concerned about the increased cost of living, and we have been working by their side to raise further awareness. Furthermore, the PCP still has deep roots in all major unions, and strikes are common.
Secondly, even though the far-right got more popular, the major players are still social democratic parties (PSD and PS). PS stands for the Socialist Party, but they are very comfortable living in a Portugal with more far-right movements because that reinforces their “centre-left” position. They have 0 interest to push a socialist agenda and to be honest, they never had.
I know this focused on bourgeois elections, but such is the nature of the Portuguese people. Political apathy has been the standard since the fascist dictatorship.
Portugal has a strong Communist Party, but I wouldn’t expect any significant advances towards socialism any time soon.
Firstly, there has been a substantial anti-communist campaign in the last years. The PCP (Portuguese Communist Party) has been demonized throughout all of the media, to the point where most of the population doesn’t even discuss the Ukrainian war but the PCP’s stance on it (most recent). Now, everyday workers are far more concerned about the increased cost of living, and we have been working by their side to raise further awareness. Furthermore, the PCP still has deep roots in all major unions, and strikes are common.
Secondly, even though the far-right got more popular, the major players are still social democratic parties (PSD and PS). PS stands for the Socialist Party, but they are very comfortable living in a Portugal with more far-right movements because that reinforces their “centre-left” position. They have 0 interest to push a socialist agenda and to be honest, they never had. I know this focused on bourgeois elections, but such is the nature of the Portuguese people. Political apathy has been the standard since the fascist dictatorship.