As a reaction to the austerity imposed on Portugal, a new political movement gave birth to a new political party, the poppy-branded LIVRE. Founded in March 2014 by former Left Bloc MEP Rui Tavares, LIVRE has already participated in the last European Parliament elections (May 2014), albeit unsuccessfully, registering only 2,18% of the votes. Anti-austerity and pro-European, this leftist party is politically and ideologically in line with the Spanish Podemos and the Greek Syriza.
At the national level, LIVRE has made some progress since its recent establishment, and is ready to make another run in the coming general elections in September 2015. Latest polls dating back to 15 May have estimated 1,8% of the electorate intends to cast their ballot in favour of LIVRE. As a matter of fact, Rui Tavares’ party has attracted political figures from the left side of the spectrum, such as the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party, Antonio Costa, who publicly praised the societal contributions that LIVRE is proposing during LIVRE’s First Congress in November 2014. Ana Drago, former Bloco de Esquerda (Left Bloc) deputy, is also supporting LIVRE’s platform.
But what is LIVRE’s platform exactly? First of all, Tavares’ first goal is the reconciliation of the Portuguese people with the European project. “Above all, we want to achieve one thing. We no longer want the countries in the South of Europe to be called PIGS,” said Tavares before the last European elections. The founding pillars of the anti-austerity party are based on the representation (and redefinition) of the Left, freedom, environmental protection and, naturally, the strengthening of Europe.
At both European and international levels, LIVRE has already been mentioned in the press (EUobserver, De Standaard, Financial Times) as a citizen movement– a civic initiative acting politically as a whole in order to represent an alternative to the traditional, rooted system in which parties no longer represent society. The party has representative nuclei all over Portugal, but also in Brussels and London. The nuclei outside Portugal provide expats and migrants the opportunity to be engaged politically, as well as to engage with different political movements and parties such as the Italian SEL – Sinistra Ecologia Liberta, the French Nouvelle Donne, the Spanish Podemos, and the Greek Syriza, among others. Thus, social gatherings are organized mainly among members and supporters who assemble on different occasions to debate and exchange ideas about their countries and the future of Europe. So far, an official meeting between the Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias and Rui Tavares has not happened.
Recently, a new political platform was created – Tempo de Avançar (Time to Move Forward) – by a combination of Portuguese movements including LIVRE, Forum Manifesto, Renovaçao Comunista and MIC-Porto. This platform embodies different organisations but, internally speaking, to elect or be elected is the same whether the candidate is an ordinary citizen or a politician. There is no room for clientelism within LIVRE’s internal organisation. Tempo de Avançar’s main purpose was the creation of a political mechanism able to represent citizens from the bottom up. Its goal is to participate in the coming elections through the only possible legal framework: LIVRE. The deadline to register as a candidate for the upcoming general elections was 21 May. The list already includes more than 100 candidates, among them some prominent names from the academic and political world, as well as the private sector.
Marta Pacheco studied Political Science and Media & Journalism at the Catholic University of Portugal (UCP). An independent researcher based in Brussels, she has been active in reporting EU and international affairs as a journalist contributor for media outlets in Brussels. Former Blue Book trainee in the European Commission and with a keen interest on politics and global affairs, Marta has been developing her skills and knowledge in the healthcare field, energy & environment and in the financial crisis.
