Portuguese Workers' Communist Party

Portuguese Workers' Communist Party/Re-Organized Movement of the Party of the Proletariat Partido Comunista dos Trabalhadores Portugueses/Movimento Reorganizativo do Partido do Proletariado
Leader	Maria Cidália Guerreiro
Founded	1970
Headquarters	Lisbon
Youth wing	Marxist–Leninist Students Federation (until 1980s)
Ideology	Communism Marxism-Leninism Maoism Anti-revisionism
Political position	Far-left
Colors	Red
Assembly of the Republic	0 / 230
European Parliament	0 / 21
Regional parliaments	0 / 104
Local Government	0 / 2,086
Party flag
Website
lutapopularonline.org
Politics of Portugal Political parties Elections

The Portuguese Workers' Communist Party/Re-Organized Movement of the Party of the Proletariat (Template:Lang-pt, 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, 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 José Manuel Durão 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.

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, 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

Election	# of votes	% of vote	# of seats	Place
1976	36,200	0.66%	0	7th
1979	53,268	0.89%	0	8th
1980	35,409	0.59%	0	11th
1983	20,995	0.37%	0	9th
1985	19,943	0.34%	0	9th
1987	20,800	0.37%	0	11th
1991	48,542	0.85%	0	7th
1995	41,137	0.70%	0	5th
1999	40,006	0.74%	0	6th
2002	36,193	0.66%	0	6th
2005	48,186	0.84%	0	6th
2009	52,761	0.93%	0	6th
2011	62,610	1.12%	0	6th
2015	59,812	1.13%	0	8th
2019	36,006	0.69%	0	11th
2022 1	10,755	0.20%	0	14th

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

European Parliament

Election	# of votes	% of vote	# of seats	Place
1987	19,475	0.35%	0	12th
1989	26,682	0.64%	0	10th
1994	24,022	0.79%	0	5th
1999	30,446	0.88%	0	6th
2004	36,294	1.07%	0	5th
2009	42,940	1.20%	0	7th
2014	54,708	1.67%	0	8th
2019	27,223	0.82%	0	12th

See also

• Politics of Portugal
• List of political parties in Portugal
• Carnation Revolution
• Marxist–Leninist Students Federation
• Maoism

External links

• Homepage of PCTP/MRPP (in Portuguese)