The Central Committee of the PCP, meeting on June 5 and 6, 2022, addressed the developments in the national and international situation and the tasks of the Party. It decided to hold a National Conference of the PCP on November 12 and 13.

I - International situation

1. The evolution of the international situation confirms central aspects of the analysis of the 21st PCP Congress. Capitalism reveals its exploitative, oppressive, aggressive and predatory nature, which is shockingly expressed by unemployment, precarious work, social injustice and inequalities, poverty, hunger, malnutrition, lack of access to healthcare and social protection, by the denial of rights and failure to respond to the basic needs of millions of human beings, by the attack on freedoms and democracy, the heightening of international tensions, the promotion of war and the worsening of environmental problems, proving it has no solutions to the problems confronting Humanity.

Faced with the deepening of capitalism’s structural crisis, big capital finds no other response than the intensification of exploitation, the attack on rights, the increasing concentration and centralisation of capital and wealth, the violent imposition of its economic and political domination. As a result of imperialism’s onslaught, the international situation is marked by a serious and dangerous worsening, great instability and uncertainty and rapid developments.

Counting on the alignment of its allies, particularly NATO and the European Union, but also Japan and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the United States of America intensifies its strategy of imposing global hegemonic dominance, reaching a qualitatively new and even more serious threshold.

2. Insisting on its policy of interference and aggression – called “maximum pressure” – against countries and peoples that do not submit to its dictates, the US, with its allies, pursues a dangerous escalation of confrontation against Russia, while at the same time continues to intensify, as its latest actions show, its policy of confrontation against China.

Imperialism pursues its policy of interference, threats, blackmail and aggression, of imposing sanctions and blockades, of trying to politically and economically isolate countries and peoples aimed at preventing sovereign options for development and in international relationships and to control their wealth.

This policy is evident in the recent initiatives by the US Administration in the Asia-Pacific region, which aim to align the countries of this region with its strategy of confrontation, isolation and increasing provocation against China, including the instrumentalization of Taiwan and the creation of AUKUS (which includes the US, UK and Australia) or of QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, made up of the US, Australia, Japan and India). In the action against countries and peoples of the Middle East, examples of which are the illegal occupation of territories and the oppression of the Palestinian people by Israel; the war, occupation and economic blockade imposed by the US and its allies on Syria; the destabilisation and US military presence in Iraq; the interference and war in Yemen; the interference in Lebanon; or sanctions and provocative manoeuvres against Iran. In the interference and destabilisation against Latin American countries, as exemplified by the blockade, sanctions and discriminatory measures imposed by the US against Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, as well as the case of preventing these countries from participating in the Summit of the Americas. In the occupation of Western Sahara by the Kingdom of Morocco and in the promotion of interference, destabilisation, coups d'état and armed conflicts in countries on the African continent, such as Mali or Ethiopia. In the sanctions imposed on various countries, such as Belarus or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. These are some among many other examples of imperialism's interference and aggression, as witnessed all over the world.

Using powerful political, economic and military means, the US, together with the other major capitalist powers gathered in the G7, is trying to respond to the serious crisis which they are facing and counter their relative decline, seeking to contain and reverse the process of realignment of forces that takes place at the world level and which objectively challenges imperialism’s hegemonic rule.

The US seeks to establish a new order which it dominates, in open confrontation with the principles of international relations achieved with the victory over Nazi-fascism in World War II, and which are set down in the UN Charter and in the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference.

3. It is in this context that the worrying deterioration of the situation in Europe and the war in Ukraine are taking place.

The current situation and its recent developments are inseparable from decades of the policy of encirclement, tension and growing confrontation by the US, NATO and the EU against the Russian Federation, in the military, economic and political spheres, which includes the continuous enlargement of NATO – now worsened by the announced enlargement to Finland and Sweden – and the systematic surge in deployment of means and troops of this political-military bloc increasingly closer to the borders of that country.

Presented as being a war between Russia and Ukraine, this war goes far beyond that. It is, in fact, an expression of a US and NATO war with Russia, within the framework of the hegemonic strategy of US imperialism, in which Ukraine and the political power implanted there are used as a tool in this dangerous warmongering action.

The fact that Russia is a capitalist country, with the class options that this implies when defining its policy, does not restrain the US's goals of confrontation with that country. The US seeks to condition the development, politically dominate and impose control over Russia's vast natural resources and territory, as well as challenge its role on the international level, including the development of diversified bilateral relations and the promotion of areas of multilateral cooperation and integration – such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) or the BRICS.

The situation in Ukraine cannot be dissociated from the 2014 coup d'état, carried out by fascist groups, which led to the imposition of a regime whose violent actions are responsible for the increase of fractures and divisions, persecutions, discrimination and the denial of fundamental rights and citizenship of populations, and for the outbreak of the war that has been taking place since then in that country.

The Central Committee of the PCP reiterates that, unequivocally and unlike others, it condemns this entire path of interference, violence and confrontation, the 2014 coup d'état promoted by the US in Ukraine, which established a xenophobic and warmongering power, the recent Russian military intervention in Ukraine and the intensification of the warmongering escalation by the US, NATO and the EU.

4. The PCP is on the side of peace and the defence of a political solution to the conflict. The PCP condemns the escalation of war and militarism, contrary to the interests of the workers and peoples, and warns of the serious dangers that such an escalation entails for the world. The PCP expresses solidarity with the peoples that are victims of the war.

The PCP reaffirms that it is urgent to stop the policy of instigating confrontation, which will only lead to the worsening of the conflict, the loss of more human lives, greater suffering and destruction. Initiatives are needed that contribute to the de-escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, to the ceasefire and to a process of dialogue with a view to a negotiated solution, to a response to the issues of collective security and disarmament in Europe, to compliance with the principles of the UN Charter and the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference, principles that the PCP upheld when the wars against Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya or Syria were at stake, and which it continues to uphold consistently.

The PCP condemns the Portuguese government's explicit commitment to escalating confrontation, in a clear expression of submission to US interests. Portugal must dissociate itself from the aggressive policy of the US, NATO and the EU and, in accordance with the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic and within the scope of its foreign relations, must contribute to the peaceful resolution of international conflicts and to peace.

5. The escalation of the war in Ukraine, with increasingly clear responsibilities of the US, NATO and the EU, is being used to whitewash policies and decisions that have long been taken and are being implemented, such as the increase in military spending, the promotion of the arms race, the increase in war-mongering alliances and partnerships and the trivialisation of militarism in international relations.

The war is also being used to whitewash NATO’s role and to disguise its warmongering and offensive nature, which are again evident in the proclaimed goals for its Summit on June 29 and 30, in Madrid. NATO, contrarily to what it claims, is not a defensive organisation, nor does it have anything to do with an alleged concern for peace, security, freedom, democracy or human rights. In reality, and since its inception, it has been a political-military bloc determined by the goal of imperialist domination, responsible for supporting fascist regimes – such as the fascist dictatorship in Portugal, which was a founding member of NATO in 1949 –, for supporting coups d’états and the imposition of sanctions and blockades, for wars such as those against Yugoslavia, Afghanistan or Libya. NATO is an aggressive organisation that disrespects sovereignty, democracy and the rights of millions of human beings. NATO in Europe does not mean peace, on the contrary, it is deeply associated with the wars on the continent after World War II, as was seen in Yugoslavia and is now evident in Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine is also being used as a pretext to further the attack on freedoms and rights, to step up the falsification, discrimination, manipulation and censorship of information in order to impose a single thought, to whitewash and spread reactionary and fascistic conceptions, to promote anti-communism, attack democracy – a dangerous drift in which agencies and information centres linked to imperialism play a fundamental role.

6. The instigation of war and the spiral of sanctions imposed by the US, NATO and the EU are dragging the world into an even more serious economic and social situation. The fact that big capital is taking advantage of war and sanctions – as happened with the epidemic – becomes increasingly clear with the spiral of speculation, the increase in the prices of energy, food and other essential goods, the attack on living conditions and the heightening of poverty and hunger worldwide, resulting in a colossal increase in the profits of multinationals.

The ongoing operation to blame only this war for the causes of the main scourges of humanity, seeks to relieve capitalism of its responsibility, deepen exploitation and speculation, providing cover for the continuation of the policy of confrontation and domination.

7. By submitting to the US strategy, the EU sacrifices the interests of the workers and peoples who, under the brutal impact of the rising cost of living, are seeing their living conditions significantly degraded and their labour and social rights attacked, while accepting the undeniable economic impacts that will be felt in Europe, far more than in the US.

Faced with the mounting contradictions, the EU seeks to carry its policies further and, if possible, encourage a more profound capitalist integration, through an even greater concentration of power in its institutions, controlled by the main powers and dominated by the interests of their monopoly groups – as was on display in the so-called “Conference on the Future of Europe”.

An effective response to the aspirations of the workers and peoples of Europe does not lie in the deepening of the EU and its neoliberal, federalist and militarist policies, but rather requires a path of social progress, peace and cooperation, between sovereign States, equal in rights.

8. In the current international context, the resistance and struggle of countries and peoples in defence of their sovereignty and rights, including the right to development, for the construction of a new international order of peace, sovereignty and social progress, assumes the utmost importance.

Valuing the actions that have taken place in Portugal, the Central Committee of the PCP reaffirms the importance of developing the struggle for peace, against fascism and war, against the escalation of confrontation, aggression and interference by imperialism, against the enlargement of NATO and for its dissolution, against the militarisation of the EU, for agreements on the control, limitation and reduction of armaments, for the end of nuclear weapons, sanctions and blockades, for respect for the rights and sovereignty of peoples, for the principles of the United Nations Charter and the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference – in line with the values enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic.

Calling for the development of solidarity with the peoples who resist imperialism’s violent action, the Central Committee of the PCP welcomes the many and diverse struggles of workers and peoples that are taking place throughout the world and reaffirms the importance of expressions of anti-imperialist resistance, as in Syria, Yemen, Cuba, Nicaragua or Venezuela, and mobilisations and popular struggles, as in Palestine, Western Sahara, Sudan, Brazil, Honduras or Colombia.

Aware of the dangers, but also of the potential that the international situation entails, the PCP will continue confidently committed to strengthening the international communist and revolutionary movement and extending its cooperation, mutual solidarity and unity in action, as well as the convergence of a broad anti-imperialist front.

II - National situation

1. The domestic political framework is marked by the absolute majority of the PS, which highlights its commitment to the interests of big capital, and by a widespread promotion of reactionary forces and projects. Big capital's decision-making centres are committed to taking advantage of the current institutional framework to step up right-wing policies. This is a situation in which, on the political, economic, social and ideological levels, there is a growing attack against the living conditions and the rights of workers and the people and an anti-democratic offensive with a strong anti-communist component, a revanchist action and new threats to the democratic regime and the Constitution of the Republic, with an ever-greater dependence of our country and foreign submission and attachment to the strategy of US imperialism, NATO and the EU.

At the same time, it is a reality in which there are fundamental elements to ensure a Portugal with a future: the values of [the] April [Revolution], well expressed in the action and struggle of the workers and other anti-monopoly classes and strata, and which were affirmed with great impact during the celebrations of the 25th of April and in the May Day events of struggle; a Constitution of the Republic that enshrines the rights of the workers and people and represents a reference for a developed and sovereign Portugal; the intervention of the Party and other democratic sectors; the action of mass organisations and movements; the existence of national resources and potential.

2. The evolution of the national situation reflects the consequences of the right-wing policy that has been imposed over the last few decades, which limits the possibilities of development and deepens inequalities, injustices and foreign dependence, worsened by the use that big capital has made and is making of the Covid-19 epidemic, as well as of the war and sanctions. A situation in which elements resulting from the defence, restoration and achievement of rights continue to be expressed, won by the struggle of workers and populations and by the intervention of the PCP, but which is increasingly marked by growing difficulties in the economic and social sphere.

The worsening cost of living, with speculation and a general rise in the prices of essential goods and services, which has taken place since the second half of 2021 and has stepped up throughout 2022, has meant an erosion in the real value of wages and pensions and soaring profits for most of the economic groups that dominate the national economy. It is in this contrast, between the impoverishment of the vast majority of the population and the increase in the wealth accumulated by a tiny minority, that our country lives. The distribution of dividends to shareholders of economic groups, in addition to the profits achieved in 2021 – as was seen in Santander/Totta, Galp or EDP – is a practice that has become recurrent and which not only reflects the worsening exploitation, but also monopoly capital’s predation of the national resources.

3. If there were still doubts about the PCP’s option in the vote on the State Budget proposal in October 2021, life is proving it correct. The main problems confronting the country at the time have worsened in the meantime: increase in the cost of living – the accumulated inflation in the first five months of the year exceeds 5.6%; intensification of exploitation, using new and old forms of precariousness and affecting above all the younger generations of workers; weakening of public services, with emphasis on the assault by private groups on the National Health Service (NHS) and the worrying deterioration of Public Education; the denial of the right to housing, with the rampant increase in costs; an economic fabric composed mostly of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) which, in addition to not having recovered from the impacts of the epidemic, are today deeply threatened by the loss of purchasing power, by the rising costs of production factors and by the predatory activity of big capital.

Refusing to recognise the worsening situation, the existence and scope of the country's structural problems, dismissing their consequences for the lives of the workers and people and the fact that they block the country’s sovereign development, the PS government refuses the solutions that could ensure a global response to our country’s problems, as seen in the 2022 State Budget, adopted at the end of May. It limits itself to indicating temporary measures to mitigate some issues and makes the decisions that it could take conditional on EU acceptance, while confirming its commitment to big capital, as is evident in the ongoing process of amending the labour legislation which, instead of revoking its grievous norms, makes changes that, despite the propaganda, worsen exploitation.

4. The context is marked, in addition to the absolute majority of the PS, also by the continued promotion of reactionary projects and forces (PSD, CDS, Chega, IL), the attack on the social functions of the State, on public companies and services, on public control of strategic sectors. The deregulation of labour relations and the economy is trumpeted as modernity and as a panacea for economic and social problems, concealing the consequences that this liberal plunder has had throughout history. Discontent and real problems are instrumentalised with demagogic discourses and piecemeal or partial proposals, in order to foster individualist feelings and to sow divisions and conflicts that prevent the unity and success of the organised struggle. Every circumstance is taken advantage of to insist on the false idea that the Constitution and the rights of workers and people are hurdles to the solution of national problems, threatening with measures aimed at their mutilation and liquidation.

Big capital, having been highly favoured, not only demands more direct support, tax benefits, EU funds, among others, but has been stepping up its revanchist action, demanding the worsening of labour legislation, the capture of new business areas – in healthcare, education, the pension system, water and waste, etc. - and an attack on rights and freedoms.

The Central Committee of the PCP warns of the retrograde and reactionary nature of projects which are underway and which include, among other aspects, the dissemination and imposition of a single thought on war, with special evidence and negative consequences in the mass media and communication; the use of war propaganda as a vehicle to import anti-democratic concepts and practices; the promotion of xenophobia, the stigmatisation of immigrant communities and the acceptance of suspicion as a criterion for the State's political decisions.

5. The worsening living standards and conditions are of the responsibility of those who in our country support the escalation of the war, the intensification and extension of the conflict and the spiral of sanctions that, benefiting economic groups, transnational corporations and the US, place the burden of their decisions upon the peoples.

The Central Committee of the PCP reaffirms that, with an economic and social policy fundamentally subjected to the interests of big capital and the impositions of the EU, the country will not find a way out of its problems.

6. In a situation of strong foreign dependence, as is the case of Portugal, the evolution of the economic situation at the international level cannot fail to be seen with great concern. The risks of further disruptions in supply chains on a global scale, of rising energy and raw material costs, the possibility of shortages of goods and/or shortfalls in the supply of intermediate products, the possibility of a rise in interest rates with impacts for Portuguese families, companies and the State, need to be taken seriously.

Such risks and threats require a different policy, committed to the interests of the workers, the people and the country.

A policy that promotes better wages, pensions and workers' rights, values public services, supports national production, ensures public control of strategic sectors, promotes fiscal justice, stands up to EU impositions and submission to the Euro and ensures national development and sovereignty, within a framework of peace and cooperation among peoples.

The struggle in defence of the interests of workers and other anti-monopoly classes and social strata,to overcome national problems and for an alternative, patriotic and left-wing policy, is inseparable from the struggle for peace and the defence of freedom and democracy, the implementation of rights enshrined in the Constitution. These are objectives that demand the participation and broad mobilisation of workers and people, the convergence of democrats and patriots.

III - Development of the mass struggle

1. In the period since the last meeting of the PCP Central Committee, the struggle of the workers, communities, youth, women, pensioners and farmers has taken on a strong and diversified expression. The struggle is inseparable from the worsening of problems and the lack of measures to overcome them and from the demands for a better life.

The celebrations of the 25th of April and the May Day events of struggle, convened by CGTP-IN, were major events, due to their size, atmosphere, affirmation and the militancy of the masses, with emphasis on the great participation of youth and the diversity of actions throughout the whole national territory, namely given the context in which they took place.

2. The Central Committee of the PCP welcomes and values the struggle of workers in companies and workplaces, in such diverse sectors as central and local Public Administration, hotel and catering, social security organisations, nurses, commerce and services, logistics, forest rangers, security forces and services or couriers of digital platforms, from companies such as Altice, Amorim Florestal, ANA, Armatis, Atlanticoline, Arsenal do Alfeite, Amarsul, Brintons, Carris, CAMO, Carl Zeiss, Caetano Auto, Cervejas da Madeira, CME, Cofisa, Copam, CP, CTT, Dia/Minipreço, Docapesca, EDP, Emel, Esip–Thay Union, Formula, Gebalis, Hospital of Vila Franca de Xira, Hotel Palácio Estoril, Hotel Portobay–Falésia, Hubertricot, INCM, Izidoro, Lidl, Metro de Lisboa, Novadis, Preh Portugal, Rodoviária de Lisboa, Sofarimex, Teijin Automotive, Valbopan, Vitrohm, Worten, and industrial train cleaning workers.

In addition to the May Day, there were several moments of convergence in the struggle, such as the demonstrations by working youth in Lisbon and Porto on March 31, the decentralised action of the CGTP-IN on April 8, the action of nurses on May 12, the action of the Common Front of Public Administration Unions on May 20 or the rally on May 27 in front of the Assembly of the Republic, which started the national action of struggle, promoted by the CGTP-IN, that will be crowned by a national demonstration in Lisbon on July 7.

The national struggle action of retirees, pensioners and the elderly, called for May 10 by MURPI and Inter-reformados in Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, Covilhã, Évora and Faro, expressed the need to increase pensions.

The National Women's Demonstration, promoted by MDM on March 5 and 12, respectively in Porto and Lisbon, as well as the equality week from March 7 to 11, promoted by the CGTP-IN, constituted moments of affirmation and convergence of women’s struggle and action for rights and equality.

Of particular importance was the demonstration by higher education students on March 24 in Lisbon against tuition fees, as well as the various actions by secondary education students on March 24 and May 19.

There were several actions by farmers, against the increase in production costs and for the right to produce, with emphasis on the action in Braga on March 24 and the actions promoted by CNA and its associates, namely in Ansião, Batalha, Coimbra , Fundão, Ovar, Pombal and Porto de Mós.

Actions by communities against the increase in the cost of living grew throughout the country, with diversified expressions and participation, resulting from the difficulties felt and the need to respond to them.

3. The Central Committee of the PCP calls on Party organisations and members to commit themselves to strengthening mass organisations and movements, to promote action and struggle for the solution of the concrete problems of each company, sector and locality, for the solution of the problems of the country. The struggle is a transforming force and one that displays confidence in the future, which does not bow to difficulties or is subjugated to those who want to impose regression and exploitation. It is a factor of unity, of raising social and political awareness and connecting the masses, with a decisive role in the transformation of society.

IV - Response and initiative of the Party in the current conditions of struggle

1. At a time when the centres of big capital want to take advantage of the existing conditions at the political level to develop and intensify the right-wing policy that ensures their dominance and class interests; when anti-democratic projects ostensibly emerge; in which the ideological offensive continues and intensifies which, centred on the attack on the PCP, aims at democracy and the freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic; new and particular demands are placed on the Party's activity, intervention and struggle.

2. The context is inseparable from a wider political and class clash, not limited to a certain period, nor separable from the ideological framework determined by dominant conceptions arising from the social and economic structure, together with a persistent and continuous ideological offensive, of an anti-democratic nature. and with a strong anti-communist component. An offensive that, although not new and having known different expressions and aspects throughout the Party's history, directly targets the PCP’s nature, the goals that it fights for, the class interests it embodies, the transformational project of social emancipation that it defends. An offensive in which the centres of big capital clearly reveal that those who want to perpetuate the system of capitalist domination identify the PCP as their main obstacle and enemy. The attack directed against the Party is, in fact, an attack against the workers and the people, their rights and living conditions.

The PCP denounces, based on the concrete life of the workers and people, what capitalism represents – a heinous system of exploitation and inequalities – and assumes the struggle with a view to overcoming it, to building a society where rights, well-being and living conditions are fully materialised, articulating it with the struggle for concrete and short-term objectives. This is what monopoly capital does not tolerate, thus making the Party a preferential target that they wish to destroy.

More than a succession of campaigns, what in fact takes place and has been particularly noticeable in recent years, with the campaign targetting the Party, is a global operation. It is an operation that includes instruments of domination that massify information through powerful means of propagation, and that counts on the multiplication of centres of increasingly concentrated ideological production, which invade all spheres of life, aiming to isolate the Party and weaken its influence.

Acquiring a new dimension with the Covid-19 epidemic and the attempt to curtail freedoms, slander the PCP’s leaders, manipulate various aspects of the international situation, promoting disinformation and lies about the PCP's opposition to the 2022 State Budget and now, with a more vile expression, regarding the war in Ukraine, what has been under development for a long time is a meticulous articulation between the goals defined by big capital and its instruments of political and ideological domination placed at the service of that strategy, with a view to distance the PCP from a more decisive intervention at the national level, to denigrate its project, goals and ideal.

This anti-communist offensive with broader anti-democratic objectives and projects arouses condemnation and rejection among many democrats, paving the way for the expansion of unitary convergence and intervention in defence of freedoms and democracy, against intolerance, fascism and fear. An offensive that, as in previous moments, will be confronted by the Party’s connection to the life and problems of the workers and the people, seeking there not only support but also the elements of trust and strength that will be projected in its action and struggle. Driven by its long-standing commitment to the workers and people, it is in identifying with their aspirations and interests that the PCP asserts and develops its action, expanding its base of support and struggle.

The changes in the institutional framework, in particular in the parliamentary balance of forces, with the PS obtaining an absolute majority accompanied by a drop in the PCP's parliamentary representation, create a more negative picture for the evolution of the economic and social situation.

3. The Central Committee of the PCP stresses, however, the real possibilities for action, political initiative and expansion of the struggle that will soon become evident with the inevitable contradiction between a majority achieved through dramatization of electoral factors, without direct correspondence with support for the PS Programme, and the nature and political choices made by its government, contrary to the interests of the workers and the people.

The PCP will continue its decisive intervention in the defence and assertion of the rights of the workers and people, in opposition to the absolute majority of the PS and the reactionary and anti-democratic projects that PSD, CDS, Chega and IL have underway and aspire to implement.

In view of this reality, it becomes even more important to strengthen the PCP, its own means, its resources, the militant action of its members, its organisation.

As these past years have shown with a remarkable response from the party organisation, it is on the independence of our means – organisational, financial, press, propaganda and communication – that the Party will rely on to assert its positions, mobilise the workers and people for the struggle, to ensure its links with the masses, which is a condition for growing roots and expanding its social, political, ideological and electoral influence. Whether in the period of the epidemic, but more particularly in these times of war, it became apparent that the mass-scale operation to limit rights, freedoms and guarantees, to impose a single thought, to try to criminalise opinions and positions other than those that the centres of domination falsely impose as “the truth”, encountered organised resistance and denunciation in the PCP's intervention, in the action and clarification of its members, in the dissemination of means of communication at its disposal. It is these instruments that must be strengthened and expanded.

The permanent confrontation between the ideological conditioning to weaken the PCP’s influence and the intervention of the communists to increase it, will ultimately be decided by the concrete reality, the objective conditions in place, the broadening consciousness of the indispensable overcoming of a heinous and inhumane system. Without losing sight of the fact that the ideological battle is definitively won during the fight for the transformation of society, a fight that the Communists must promote.

V - Intervention and strengthening of the Party

1. In the follow-up of the January 30 legislative elections, the Central Committee of the PCP pointed out at its February 1 meeting, guidelines, priorities and lines of intervention. In the meantime, the international and national situation has experienced developments with strong impacts on the workers, the people and the country and on the Party's activity.

Developments in the international situation and the major operation of manipulation and ideological intoxication underway, with strong expression at the national level, have placed demands for resistance from the Party collective and an increased need for initiative and connection with the masses.

2. The role, resistance, response and initiative of the Party organisation in the current situation must be valued, namely in facing the ideological offensive and general conditioning, with an anti-democratic content with a strong anti-communist leaning.

The March 6 Party rally, in Campo Pequeno, was an exceptional event due to its mobilisation, determination, youth participation, affirmation of resistance, freedom and confidence, with a strong impact on the participants, on the Party collective and on the stimulus to the workers' struggle and the intervention of the democrats. The rally culminated the vast programme of the Party’s Centenary celebrations under the slogan “Freedom, democracy, socialism – the future has a Party”, in the affirmation of its ideal and project, of its communist identity, which constituted an exhilarating moment in the PCP’s History and a powerful affirmation of the paths that the country needs.

We have to highlight the wide range of initiatives that marked the 101st anniversary of the Party and the 48th anniversary of the 25th of April, the intervention against the increase in the cost of living, for the rights of children and parents, in defence of the NHS, of the right to housing, the increase in wages and pensions, the dynamization of the struggle for demands in various sectors, the action in defence of democracy and the valorisation of the anti-fascist resistance, the initiatives on the 80th anniversary of the birth of Adriano Correia de Oliveira and the centenary of José Saramago, as well as the contribution to the popular celebrations of the 25th of April and May Day. The importance of initiatives such as those carried out regarding energy and resources, on the Euro and its impacts and the National Culture Meeting must be highlighted.

We have to value the role, functioning and intervention of the Party, the meetings and plenary sessions, the preparation and holding of organisation assemblies, the accountability of cadres, the recruitment of new militants and the number of people who take the initiative to seek the Party, the work to ensure our financial independence, which includes the campaign to increase dues, as well as the action of the JCP, with an outstanding intervention and mobilisation of young communists.

3. Essential aspects include the strengthening of the links with the masses, a more in-depth knowledge of their problems and aspirations, their mobilisation around concrete objectives, in articulation with the regular functioning and strengthening of the Party.

To be highlighted is the importance of the participation of militants in the life of the Party, holding regular meetings of the Party organisations and plenary sessions, carefully preparing organisational assemblies, carrying out social gathering events open to a broad participation.

The Party and each of its organisations need to develop a bold initiative tuned to reality and problems, with a view to developing the struggle of workers, populations, various strata and social sectors, in strengthening broad-based mass organisations, in political work and in unitary actions at various levels.

We also stress the work of the Party organisation and besides that, the preparation of the Avante! Festival, which takes place on September 2,3 and 4, a great political and cultural initiative of the masses, a Festival of April and its values, a Festival of the youth and people, Festival of friendship, peace and solidarity.

4. The situation we are experiencing, with the assessment of its short-term and longer-term implications, makes it even more urgent to implement the guidelines of the21st Congress for the strengthening of the Party, the measures with this objective and a definition of priorities and tasks. adjusted to each specific situation.

Reaffirming the conclusions of the 21st Congress, the Central Committee of the PCP has decided to hold a National Conference with the aim of contributing to the analysis of the situation and its developments, focused on responding to the country's problems, on the priorities of intervention and strengthening of the Party and in affirming its project, stimulating a broad involvement of the Party collective and promoting a confident perspective of the future.

The National Conference “Taking the initiative, strengthening the Party, responding to new demands” will take place on November 12 and 13, at the Alto do Moinho Pavillion, in Corroios, in the municipality of Seixal.

5. As part of the preparation of the National Conference, the Central Committee of the PCP indicates the need to continue taking urgent measures to boost the Party’s intervention and strength, at various levels.

In this sense, it points out as priorities the intervention and implementation of initiatives on: wages, rights, labour legislation; pensions; children and parents with rights; rising cost of living; national production; food sovereignty; public services; NHS; education; culture; housing; water resources; environment; development; peace and solidarity; valorisation of anti-fascist resistance; defence of freedom, democracy, the April Revolution and affirmation of its values.

As regards the strengthening of the Party, it is important to immediately ensure: accountability and training of cadres; recruitment, implementing the ongoing campaign and the integration of new militants; strengthening work in companies and workplaces; strengthening of local organisations; the promotion of work with youth and support for the JCP; the intensification of Avante! sales, strengthening the circulation of the Party press and the propaganda structures and actions; the adoption of measures that guarantee financial independence, namely with the campaign to increase dues and for their regular payment; the holding of organisational Assemblies; the affirmation of the Party, its operating principles and its identity.

6. The Central Committee of the PCP calls for the implementation of lines of work for the intervention and strengthening of the Party, based on resistance, militancy, initiative, audacity and confidence, in the face of capitalism and its exploitative, oppressive, aggressive and predatory nature, which calls with particular relevance for the fight against imperialism, fascism and war, and the development of the struggle for freedom, democracy and socialism.