Comrade delegates, comrades and friends, national guests, esteemed comrades and friends of the foreign delegations

We are on the verge of closing our 17th Congress.

This is the point of arrival of a debate begun in February, which involved many thousands of Party members, which mobilized all Party organisations from the North to South of mainland Portugal, from the Autonomous Regions of Madeira and the Azores and among our emigrants, in a total of 1 693 Assemblies, plenary meetings, debates and other initiatives where more than 20 thousand comrades participated, including the individual contributions of comrades who resorted to the open rostrum of the Avante! and the Net, and which resulted in hundreds of proposals included in the initial Draft, and in a total of 1 100 proposals, suggestions and reflections, conveyed to the Party and the Congress. And here we are, the debate having been carried out, the Political Resolution having been voted, the changes to the Party’s Constitution and the election of the leadership and the jurisdiction body having been made. We reac!hed a goal: to assert this Communist Party and to elect a leadership to materialize this assertion.

During these 3 days there is a fact that sets the difference of this Party in relation to others, this Congress in relation to other Congresses recently held by other Parties.

It is different in participation, different in content. We did not have that painful scene of speakers talking to a few dozen delegates, due to absence of the chiefs, the would-be chiefs or those who are angry with the chiefs. We did not have the speeches, the personalisation, the contents and voting positions determined because someone wants to have more power, or was eyeing a post, or because someone was thinking about how to be in the pole position for posts in local government, as members of parliament or, who knows, even as Cabinet ministers or at least junior ministers.

The delegates to the 17th Congress of the PCP dignified, through their permanent presence in the hall, the mandate that was given to them, in a demonstration of democracy, which is in unparallelled in the Congress of any other Party. This was not an act imposed through disciplinary measures. This was an act of a free and responsibly assumed conscience.

Due to the imposition of the law [on Political Parties], which collides with the democratic and constitutional values, we elected our leadership through a secret ballot.

We considered that, to be in a position to proceed with our struggle against this law of imposition, we had to defend the Party.

The Central Committee was elected by almost all the 1 307 delegates and with 95% of votes in favour.

In this, as in previous Congresses, the PCP demonstrated that it is not a Party that cannot adapt to democracy, entrenched in rules dating back to the time of its heroic struggle against the fascist dictatorship. We inscribe in our programme elections as a direct source of political power and legitimacy in constituting our [Party] organs. What we do not accept are interferences and impositions that restrict the sovereignty of our members, that restrict the freedom for which we fought so hardly and that weaken democracy itself. The repeal of this law would be a healthy democratic exercise.

Concerning the elected leadership, two or three important remarks:

The first is the significant renewal, with the entry into the Central Committee of 27 young members under 30 years of age. Although not a value in itself, this enables us to blend the future generation with the generations that have already been forged and experienced in leadership work.

The second is the increase in the percentage of women comrades in the Central Committee and its Executive Bodies which provides us, not with a feeling of self-congratulatory satisfaction, but with the need for a more courageous assessment of the participation and attribution to women comrades of responsibilities in the leadership and in the life of the Party.

The third has to do with the departures from the Executive Bodies and from the Central Committee and the replacement of the Secretary-General.

Generally, they are cadres who will continue in the leadership of the Party or in the Party's ranks, men and women who gave their best effort, militancy and intelligence. We are not paying any homage or saying goodbye, since they will continue with us and above all with the Party, with its ideals and its struggle.

To comrade Carlos Carvalhas, who accepted and carried out, among many others, one of the most demanding tasks that can be placed before a communist militant, and interpreting the strongest feeling of our Party collective, we wish to express our sincere belief that, in the good and the bad times, he will share and stand shoulder to shoulder with us in other struggles, active and committed to strengthening the unity and the cohesion, prestige and influence of his Party, of our Portuguese Communist Party! This is the meaning of our fraternal greeting.

Comrades,

If during the preparatory debate we did not close for Congress, also during these three days we did not just focus on ourselves, on internal matters and, even less, did we allowed ourselves to be conditioned by the campaign that wanted to lead us to personalisation, not to mention the usual campaigns and prophecies of a Party and a Congress that would be plagued by self-flagellation and divisions, the incitement of prejudice, the labelling and caricature of this Party. We are tireless fighters for freedom, and we have a place, and an indispensable place, in Portuguese democracy.

We did not undergo any catharsis, we are not a club where you debate until you are tired, only to debate again on the following day or days what had already been debated, whilst the problems remain and life goes on.

We have an opinion: difficult does not mean impossible!

We talked about ourselves, about our inner-Party life. But not even here, did we fence ourselves in from the problems of the workers, the people and the country.

We hereby affirm that our immediate and persistent struggle is against the government and its right-wing policy. We have shown that the PSD- CDS/PP government is responsible for the country’s recession and for the fact that it is getting worse and longer, for the growing gap between the Portuguese economy and the European average, for the worsening of the social situation.

There is a growth in unemployment and difficulties for families, while there are ever more jobs for their pals and fellow-party mates. There is a growth in criminality and insecurity and in inequalities. Public companies and assets are sold at friendly prices, showing that, contrary to what [Prime Minister] Santana Lopes said, we lose both fingers and rings. We see with concern the warning signs of pressure and censorship being imposed upon the media.

If the President of the Republic defended his regrettable option of installing in office this government based on the need for stability, we note that stability does not exist, either on the political level, on the economic level or on the social level. There are those waiting for a remorse of conscience. We, Communists, have more faith in the conscience, the protest and the struggle of the workers and of all Portuguese men and women who feel the need for a change in the current state of affairs, that is, the need to fight against this policy and defeat this government, avoiding more irreparable harm to the people and the country.

It is necessary and urgent to have a different policy and a different government.

This is the first appeal from this Congress to all workers, to all those who feel affected and harmed by this policy, to all democratic forces, to all citizens who are uneasy and dissatisfied with the future of the country and of democracy: to converge around the goal of putting an end to this disastrous policy and this government.

In this Congress we committed ourselves to not spare any effort in the success of this convergence and this struggle.

And, if this is the most solid and safest course to build the foundations of a truly alternative policy, we must see how to achieve it.

We have discussed and debated this crucial issue, defined and adopted guidelines. We have considered that it is necessary and possible.

Since we are talking about an alternative of the left that is to be created on an institutional level, we must first deal with an inevitable issue.

There are democratic forces, namely the PS [Socialist Party], which say that the PCP has to change its stance and readiness, on structuring issues related to the economic policy, on our definition of the course of the European Union, on matters of security and defence. That is, precisely on the issues in which the PS agrees, and is in step with, the right.

The problem is that the PS frames the issue the other way around: a political force like the PCP, which assumes in a coherent and consistent way, the values, causes and a project of the left should renounce them; a party like the PS, which claims to be a left-wing party, but has practised and practises a policy of the right, would remain as it is.

This does not answer a fundamental contradiction, which is to know whether it is possible to have a true left-wing alternative, while maintaining, exercising and carrying out a right-wing policy.

We hereby affirm in this Congress that we do not give up on a convergence, a dialogue with democratic forces and sectors on everything that may serve the interests of the workers, the people and the country. But do not ask the PCP to give up being what it is, to give up defending and fighting for a different policy: a left-wing policy which breaks with the tiresome and worn-out circle of alternation, a policy of truth which may not bring votes, but binds this Party to its commitment to the interests, rights and aspirations of the workers and the people. This is the very reason for our nature, our activity, our existence and our struggle.

Here we are ready for the looming battles and tasks.

We shall be in the battles with the workers confronting the ongoing offensive: growing unemployment, obstacles to collective bargaining, the new threats against work shifts deriving from the compulsory application of the more grievous rules of the Labour Code beginning this coming December 1st, the dangers threatening the right to Social Security, health-care, public education.

Here we are in the front-line of the struggle to defend the rights of women and for their participation on an equal footing. And from this rostrum I reiterate the appeal to the Portuguese women, adopted at this Congress, to strengthen their unity and organised action around common problems and demands, for the exercise of economic, social, labour and political rights; a struggle which confronts and holds responsible the present PSD CDS/PP majority. And to contribute to the struggle for an alternative to the right-wing policy, a necessary condition for the success of their just aspirations for equality.

Here we are ready to expose the rehearsal carried out around the referendum on the so-called Constitutional Treaty of the European Union, to wage the battle of explaining that it seeks to take another step forward in our loss of sovereignty and give cover to the militarist and neo-liberal policy that today marks the evolution of the European Union.

From here we set forth in a better position to wage the battle of the local government elections, which demands a strong commitment by all Party organisations so that, side by side with our coalition partners, the Green Ecologist Party and the Democratic Intervention, side by side with thousands of democrats and independent citizens, asserting the CDU [United Democratic Coalition] and the PCP as a great national force in local government, with a weight and influence in accordance with the value of their work and prestige, which was gained through work, through honesty and through competence.

From here we set a challenge: for a break with the right-wing policy that has lasted for decades; to break away from neo-liberalism and the concentration of wealth; to make good use of our productive apparatus and the production of a greater and richer added value; to place the labour of the Portuguese [people] at the core, as an intrinsic element of the economy; to fight against the three great deficits (in technology, energy and food); to defend our sovereignty and national interest.

What this Congress expressed with more strength and meaning was the confident assertion that the people and the country are not doomed by any fate or bad luck, that it is possible to have a different policy, a better future.

Comrades,

We reaffirm our patriotic and internationalist nature. If we value and give priority to our action and our struggle at the national level, it is not because we isolate ourselves and do not understand the increasingly pressing need to give more global answers to the process of capitalist globalisation.

Our successes, our struggle, our experiences here in our country are the best contribution to the growth of solidarity, internationalist cooperation, our best contribution to stand up against the imperialist offensive.

We follow and are engaged in the vast movement against capitalist globalisation, in the struggle against neo-liberalism and war, respecting and stimulating its diversity. But we believe that the existence and the participation of Communist Parties, of class Parties in this vast movement, is not only good for these parties but good for the left and the progressive forces within it, as we consider that the issue of the class struggle continues to remain the great issue of our times.

From here we reaffirm our admiration and solidarity with the peoples, the struggle of the workers, the heroic affirmations of struggle of the peoples confronting imperialism in defence of their sovereignty, their free choices and options to set their own course. From here we reaffirm our solidarity with the Cuban people and the Cuban revolution, with the martyr people of Palestine, with the progressive liberation movements, with the millions of men and women who around the planet show their unwavering desire for a more just, more secure and more democratic world, the firm belief that capitalism will not be the end of the history of Humankind, that the alternative is Socialism.

Comrades and friends from the foreign delegations, we would like you to convey to your parties and organisations that you can count upon the Portuguese Communists in the struggle for a better, more just, more fraternal world, with more solidarity; that in the good times and in the bad times, in failure and in triumph, we shall always be together in this fascinating process of social change.

Comrades,

We have set guidelines, taken deliberations, elected the Leadership, affirmed a Party of proposal, of struggle and of project. We have ideas for the future.

We trust that many, many Portuguese will understand that this was not a Congress invaded by any feeling of being an isolated and besieged fortress, but a Congress of a PCP that knows, through its history, its life and its struggle, that so long as it remains anchored to the interests, rights and hopes of the workers and the Portuguese people, it will never feel besieged. A PCP made up by free women and men, who have voluntarily joined around a great and honourable project of freedom, democracy and socialism, and who, in an attitude of great civic worthiness and political conscience and without any loss of their individuality, have, also freely, decided to build a great collective endeavour that gives strength and effectiveness to the values and ideals in which they believe.

With that confidence and with the certainty that we continue to have more future project than past memory, the Portuguese Communists will be required to have more political courage, ideological courage, moral courage and, if necessary, physical courage to carry on, to forward the course of an advanced democracy and of socialism.

For the working class, for the workers, for the youth, for the people, for democracy, for Portugal.
Long live the 17th Congress!
Long live the Portuguese Communist Party!