Category: Communist Party Portugal
Condemn U.S. decision on Jerusalem: Statements by Communist and Workers Parties across the world
worker | December 9, 2017 | 8:34 pm | AKEL (Cyprus), Communist Party India, Communist Party Portugal, Communist Party Turkey, Donald Trump, Iraqi Communist Party | Comments closed

Saturday, December 9, 2017

Condemn U.S. decision on Jerusalem: Statements by Communist and Workers Parties across the world

https://communismgr.blogspot.com/2017/12/condemn-us-decision-on-jerusalem.html
The recent decision of the U.S. Trump administration to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital city of the state of Israel has sparked outrage across the world. Israeli and Palestinian communist and left parties have denounced Trump’s decision, while the Communist Party of Greece stated that the decision “adds fuel to the fire” to “burn” the perspective of a Palestinian state. Below, you can read announcements by various Communist and Workers Parties:
The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the decision of US President Donald Trump, to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to shift the US Embassy there from Tel Aviv.
This action goes against the United Nations’ and the international community’s stand that  East Jerusalem is an occupied territory by Israel since 1967.  An independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital is the internationally accepted position.  The United States has taken the formal step of legalizing the illegal occupation of Palestine territories by Israel.  No other country in the world has given recognition to Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The United States is also responsible for scuttling any possible peace negotiations between the Israel and Palestine.  This decision by Donald Trump will trigger further tensions and conflicts in the region with global ramifications.
Unlike the worldwide opposition to this move, official spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs has scrupulously refused to criticize the US decision.  This shows the extent of servility of the Modi regime to the United States.
The Polit Bureau demands that the Modi government come out strongly disapproving of the US action, as it goes against India’s longstanding commitment to the Palestinian cause.
AKEL denounces the unilateral decision by the United States to proceed to the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which violates the resolutions and decisions of the United Nations on the special international status of the city. The status of Jerusalem is a central issue for a comprehensive solution of the Palestinian issue, and the position of the international community is that East Jerusalem will be the capital of the independent Palestinian state.
This provocative decision constitutes a flagrant violation of the Palestinian people’s national rights and represents support for the Israeli occupation, threatening to undermine the possibility of a two-state solution and to provoke new conflicts both in Jerusalem and in Palestine, and more broadly throughout the region.
We believe that the international community has an obligation to defend its decisions and principles of law, to uphold the right of the Palestinian people to an independent and viable state. This is a critical time during which the UN and the entire international community – together with the EU as well – must demand in practice the immediate termination of the 50-year Israeli occupation, the recognition of the independent Palestinian state – with East Jerusalem as its capital – as a full member of the UN.
We reiterate that the Cypriot government must adopt a position based on principles and stand against this decision otherwise it will be exposed in the eyes of the Arab world, but also the overwhelming majority of the international community.
AKEL reaffirms its full unreserved solidarity with the Palestinian people, which it will intensify in a variety of ways. The Palestinian people, like all the peoples of our region, have the right to freedom and peace.
AKEL has submitted a relevant resolution to the Cyprus Parliament.
 
 
The PCP strongly condemns the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel today announced by the US President, a decision that represents explicit US support for Israel’s Zionist policy and a frontal aggression on the martyred Palestinian people and provocation of the Arab peoples, with dangerous and unpredictable consequences.

The PCP considers this decision – which is associated with the announced transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem – which is all the more serious when it is taken at a time when plans for a new military escalation in the region are becoming increasingly clear with the danger of an enormous confrontation, with consequences far beyond the Middle East.

The PCP considers that the Portuguese Government should- in respect to the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic and the decisions adopted by the Assembly of the Republic concerning the recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to the construction of the State of Palestine, on the pre- 1967 borders and with capital in East Jerusalem – unequivocally condemn the decision now taken by the US administration.

The US Administration’s decision – which openly violates International Law and numerous UN Security Council resolutions on the status of Jerusalem, starting with Resolution 478 that explicitly determines the withdrawal of the diplomatic missions from that city, as well as Resolution 2334 of December, 2016, which, condemning the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory, reiterates that the status of Jerusalem can only be settled by way of negotiation – constitutes a new and serious obstacle to the necessary negotiated settlement of the Palestinian question and highlights the hypocritical role of the United States regarding the just resolution of the conflict.

The decision now taken cannot be separated from the US Administration’s measures to sabotage the nuclear agreement with Iran; from Israeli military aggressions on Syrian territory; from the announcements of the constitution of a “NATO of the Middle East” aimed at Iran and involving dictatorships of the Gulf; from the conflicts instigated by Saudi Arabia, a historical ally of the USA, against Yemen and other countries of the region; the upsurge of terrorist attacks in countries like Egypt; from the persistent declarations by Israeli leaders threatening direct military conflicts with Iran and Lebanon – a framework of widespread degradation of the situation being fostered by the more adventurous and bellicose sectors of imperialism, faced with an increasingly clear defeat of their plans of destabilization and terrorist chaos in Syria, thanks to the resistance of the Syrian people and the help it has received from other countries and forces, now targeted by these same sectors.

The PCP considers that measures should be taken at UN level to condemn and deter the US administration from a decision that constitutes a provocation and a very serious step in the escalation of tension and conflict in the Middle East.

The PCP reaffirms its long-standing solidarity with the Palestinian people and its legitimate and heroic seven-decade struggle for the right to a sovereign and viable state on the pre-1967 borders and with its capital in East Jerusalem, and respect for the right of return of the Palestinian refugees that Israel’s policy of expansion and occupation of Palestine generated.

Considering that solidarity with the Palestinian people is now more than ever necessary, the PCP calls on all peace-loving forces to express their firm opposition, not only against the measures now announced by the US administration, but also regarding the plans and threats of escalation of military aggressions, which have already destroyed several countries in the Middle East and represent a very real and serious threat to peace in the region and in the world.

 
“Only under Socialism Jerusalem can be the capital of peace”.
It is pointless to look for a strategy on the Palestinian issue behind the US President’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The US imperialism has generated a plethora of “projects” from outright occupation to “moderate Islam”, from the so-called “Arab Spring” to the “fight against terror”, which all fizzled out and caused the major imperialist power to lose ground. On top of such unhindered descension, the ongoing fratricide among the dominant powers of the US has added insult to injury. Trump’s Jerusalem initiative is an attempt to kill two birds with one stone, i.e. to allow the US take initiative in the region on the one hand and to provoke the region in order to save his own skin on the other.
This attempt is doomed to failure; it can result in nothing but another fiasco.
Jerusalem has a status specified by international agreements and United Nations documents. The “two-state solution” prescribed for the Palestinian issue identifies East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent state of Palestine.
The United States and Israel have sabotaged all attempts to proceed in this direction for many years. These interceptions meant planting bombs on the road to a solution. Now, these bombs will explode in the hands of those who have planted them.
First of all, declaring Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is not a decision that can gain recognition in the present state of world affairs. It is impossible to assemble a coalition with other imperialist powers, global and regional powers to legitimize such decision.
Secondly, the forces of peace are not as weak as they are supposed to be. Imperialism, which miscalculated the resistance against occupation in the Middle East, the secular and patriotic background of the region in recent years, is engaged in an attempt doomed to failure once again. The people of Palestine will resist. The forces of peace in Israel will resist. Peoples of the region who live in countries which are friendly to Israel and adherents and pawns of the US, will stand by the resistance.
Trump’s fantasy to kill many birds with one stone will certainly backfire; the illegitimate policies of the state of Israel will meet with the reaction and abomination of all humanity.
Communist Party of Turkey strongly condemns the US President’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and highlights that this is an utterly provocative attempt. Provocations can be circumvented only through the joint political action of peoples.
Enemies of the people have no place in this fight. The reactionary political powers in the region, firs and foremost the AKP, have no legitimacy whatsoever to take part in it. Tayyip Erdoğan is not embracing the seemingly anti-Israeli demagogy today for the first time. Erdoğan’s defiance is nothing but an empty threat. Just as it was years ago in Davos, during Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
The continuation of military cooperation between Turkey and Israel proved that this old demagogy was nothing but empty words. It became obvious as imperialism unleashed Turkey and Israel against Syria right off the bat. It became obvious as the massacres perpetrated by ISIS, which wreaked havoc on the region, gained the support of these countries. The fact that reactionism employs Islamist bigotry in Turkey and Jewish bigotry in Israel does not make any difference.
The fake reactions of the AKP and similar regimes in the region complement Trump’s sinister attempt. Provocation is welcomed with more provocation, and battle cries rang all around. Reactionism supposes that it can sustain its power by provoking peoples against each other.
In this very day, Communist Party of Turkey feels the necessity to underline the fact that reactionism is neither on the side of the Palestinian people, nor on the side of peace.
It is not impossible to make Jerusalem a center where peoples of diverse cultures, faiths and languages can and do live in peace side by side. Yet, it is time to remind ourselves that this objective can be attained only under socialism. The last assault of imperialism and Zionism shall not be an excuse to put other demands in front of the fight for peace and socialism. On the contrary, the fact that the threat of war could not be staved off so far proves that putting off the fight for socialism is a profound fallacy.
Communist Party of Turkey proclaims that the provocative decision about Jerusalem cannot gain validity in the face of the peoples’ will, and demands this dismal attempt to be revoked at once.
On this occasion, we once again demand to put an end to the occupation, to have an independent and sovereign state of Palestine to be established within 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, to have the Palestinian state accepted as a full member to the United Nations, to have Israeli military stop its invasion on Syrian and Lebanese territories, to have the blockade of Gaza lifted unconditionally and immediately, to have illegal Jewish settlements on Palestinian territories abolished at once, to have the Jewish settlers leave Palestine, to have the wall of shame surrounding Palestine torn down, to have Palestinian refugees who have been forced to leave their homes to be able to return their lands, and to have all political prisoners in Israeli prisons to be released.
We repeat our solidarity with the toiling masses of Palestine, the forces of peace in Israel, and all oppressed, patriotic peoples of our region, and we hail the working classes of Israel and Palestine and the revolutionary, communist and peace loving  forces of resistance who represent them.
The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the decision of US President Donald Trump, to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to shift the US Embassy there from Tel Aviv.
This action goes against the United Nations’ and the international community’s stand that  East Jerusalem is an occupied territory by Israel since 1967.  An independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital is the internationally accepted position.  The United States has taken the formal step of legalizing the illegal occupation of Palestine territories by Israel.  No other country in the world has given recognition to Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The United States is also responsible for scuttling any possible peace negotiations between the Israel and Palestine.  This decision by Donald Trump will trigger further tensions and conflicts in the region with global ramifications.
Unlike the worldwide opposition to this move, official spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs has scrupulously refused to criticize the US decision.  This shows the extent of servility of the Modi regime to the United States.
The Polit Bureau demands that the Modi government come out strongly disapproving of the US action, as it goes against India’s longstanding commitment to the Palestinian cause.
(In Arabic)
نستنكر قرار ترامب ونتضامن مع الشعب الفلسطيني
نفذ الرئيس االمريكي يوم امس في اجراء متهور قرار الكونغرس األمريكي المتخذ سنة 1995 ، والذي
رفض الرؤساء االمريكان السابقون التوقيع عليه.
وجاءت خطوة ترامب باالعتراف بالقدس عاصمة لدولة االحتالل االسرائيلية ونقل سفارة الواليات المتحدة
االمريكية اليها ، حلقة في سلسلة مواقف االدارة االمريكية المعادية لحقوق وتطلعات الشعب الفلسطيني
العادلة ، وضمن نهج عدواني متغطرس لالدارة الحالية.
ان هذه الخطوة تشكل مخالفة صريحة واضحة لكل القرارات الدولية ذات العالقة بالقدس ووضعها النهائي ،
واضفاء شرعية على احتالل اسرائيل لها وعلى خطوتها العدوانية بضم القدس الشرقية التي احتلتها عام
1967 واعتبار القدس عاصمة ابدية موحدة لها.
و يضرب موقف االدارة االمريكية هذا عرض الحائط بكل التحذيرات االقليمية والدولية من االقدام على ذلك
لما يسببه من توتر وعدم استقرار في المنطقة ، وتقويض لحل الدولتين الذي تدعمه قرارات الشرعية الدولية
والمجتمع الدولي.
ان هذا القرار باطل في واقع الحال وغير قانوني ، وهو ال يغير من وضعية القدس كونها مدينة محتلة
يتوجب على المحتلين الرحيل عنها ، وعن كافة االراضي الفلسطينية والعربية التي احتلوها بعد حزيران
1967 ،وايقاف عمليات بناء المستوطنات االسرائيلية.
اننا اذ نستنكر هذا القرار غير المشروع ، ونجدد تضامننا مع الشعب الفلسطيني ودعمنا حقه المشروع في
اقامة دولته الوطنية على ارضه وعاصمتها القدس ، وتنفيذ قرارات الشرعية الدولية ذات العالقة ، ندعو
االمم المتحدة وكافة الدول والقوى المناصرة للعدل والسلم ولحق الشعوب في تقرير مصيرها، وشعوب
البلدان العربية واالسالمية وشعبنا العراقي وكافة االحزاب والقوى الوطنية ، الى التضامن مع الشعب
الفلسطيني والضغط بمختلف االشكال الشرعية والقانونية لحمل االدارة االمريكية على التراجع عن قرارها
العدواني ، واتخاذ اجراءات ملموسة وعملية في هذا الشأن، وان يتوج ذلك باتخاذ قرارات دولية ملزمة
تستجيب الرادة الشعب الفلسطيني وتضمن نيل حقوقه وتصحيح االجحاف التاريخي الذي وقع ضحيته.
اللجنة المركزية
للحزب الشيوعي العراقي
7/12/2017
Αναρτήθηκε από In Defense of Communism
No pasarán! We denounce the attempts to ban the Communist Party of Ukraine
worker | February 8, 2017 | 7:55 pm | AKEL (Cyprus), Announcements, Communist Party Greece (KKE), Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (CPBM), Communist Party Portugal, Communist Party Russian Federation, Communist Party Turkey, Communist Party Ukraine, political struggle, Ukraine | Comments closed

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

No pasarán! We denounce the attempts to ban the Communist Party of Ukraine

https://communismgr.blogspot.com/2017/02/no-pasaran-we-denounce-attempts-to-ban.html
Members from the International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties (IMCWP) have released a statement denouncing the attempts to ban the Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU). 
The statement points out the invalidity of the trial and underlines the grave responsibilities of the EU, NATO and USA in the process by supporting the ultra-right and fascist forces in Ukraine.

 Apart from annihilating the CPU, the Ukrainian authorities attempt to falsify and distort the country’s history and turn former Nazi collaborators into heroes, says the statement.
Joint Statement of the Working Group of the International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties
“We denounce the attempts to ban the Communist Party of Ukraine”
7th February 2017
The undersigned Parties denounce once again in the strongest possible terms the attempts to ban the Communist Party of Ukraine in view of the relevant trial due to take place tomorrow (08.02.17) in Kiev. This parody trial aims at annihilating the CP Ukraine through a process that is contrary to the principles of International Law, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international principles and conventions.
The attempt at prohibiting the CP of Ukraine is the culmination of a continuous and violent persecution of the Party with the ultra-right and fascist forces at the forefront. The European Union, the US and NATO, which have fueled and supported these forces, bear grave responsibilities. The attempt to impose the so-called decommunisation of the country, to falsify and distort the country’s history and collective memory, which is seeking to serve the ideological and political considerations and interests of the current order in Ukraine, is evolving within this context. The efforts to turn former Nazi collaborators into heroes are all part of this campaign in the country.
The undersigned Communist and Workers Parties will work both at a local and international level to condemn such actions and denounce them before the international community. At the same time they will stand in solidarity with the CP Ukraine until its final vindication.
The first signatories:
Cyprus – AKEL – Progressive Party of the Working People
Czech Rep. – CPBM – Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
Greece – KKE – Communist Party of Greece
Iran – Tudeh Party
Portugal – PCP – Portuguese Communist Party
Russia – CPRF – Communist Party of the Russian Federation
Turkey – TKP – Communist Party of Turkey
Posted by In Defense of Communism
Portugal to Hold Presidential Elections on Sunday
worker | January 23, 2016 | 7:27 pm | Communist Party Portugal, political struggle | Comments closed
People vote at a polling station during the general election in Lisbon, Portugal October 4, 2015.

Portugal to Hold Presidential Elections on Sunday

© REUTERS/ Rafael Marchante

The Portuguese will go to the polls on Sunday to elect the president for the next five years.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The country will certainly have a new leader, because the incumbent Portugal President Anibal Cavaco Silva will not participate in the elections. He has already served two consecutive terms in office, and country’s constitution prohibits him from nominating for the upcoming elections.

Wall Street
© Flickr/ Stefano Brivio
Brexit: Goldman Sachs Lines Pro-EU Establishment’s Pockets With Gold

There are 10 candidates for the presidential race, including the ones supported by country’s political parties, as well as independent nominees. The number of candidates is the record one in the decades-long Portuguese democracy.

The frontrunner in the election is Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa supported by the Portuguese Social Democratic Party (PSD), Democratic and Social Center – People’s Party (CDS-PP) and the People’s Monarchist Party (PPM). According to the polls published on Friday, he could gather support from 51 to 55 percent of voters and win in the first round.

Incumbent Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa of the Socialist Party (SP) calls on voters to support either former head of University of Lisbon Sampaio da Novoa or former SP’s leader Maria de Belem. They are expected to get some 17 and 12 percent of voters’ support respectively.

A CIA internal report from 2009 shows that the spy agency repeatedly overstated the value of intelligence gained through the torture of its detainees.
© AP Photo/ J. Scott Applewhite
Portuguese Court Demands CIA Agent Extradition to Italy for Rendition Crime

The Left Bloc party is represented by the member of the European Parliament, Marisa Matias, while the country’s Communist Party supports Edgar Silva.

The voters could also cast their ballots in support of independent candidates, who are not backed by any party, such as former SP members Henrique Neto and Candido Ferreira, anti-corruption activist Paulo de Morais, psychologist Jorge Sequeira or participant of several reality shows Vitorino Silva.

The vote begins at 8 a.m. local time (which coincides with GMT) and lasts until 7 p.m. without interruption.

If no one wins in the first round, the second round is expected to be scheduled for February 14.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160124/1033616105/portugal-presidential-elections.html#ixzz3y7YRS4sP

Does the Portuguese revolution fall short?
worker | November 12, 2015 | 6:55 pm | class struggle, Communist Party Portugal, political struggle | Comments closed
Supporters accompany Portugal's Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho and Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas during an election campaign event in Lisbon, Portugal, October 2, 2015

Portuguese Revolution Falls Far Short

© REUTERS/ Rafael Marchante
Paul Craig Roberts
 

The austerity imposed on the Portuguese people by the One Percent has resulted in the election of a coalition government of socialists, communists, and a “left bloc.”

In the 20th century, socialism and the fear of communism humanized Europe, but beginning with Margaret Thatcher the achievements of decades of social reforms have been rolled back throughout Europe as bought-and-paid for governments have given all preference to the One Percent. Public assets are being privatized, and social pensions and services are being reduced in order to make interest payments to private banks.

Portuguese Parliament Forces Recently Formed Gov’t to Resign

When the recent Portuguese vote gave a majority to the anti-austerity bloc, the right-wing Portuguese president, Anibal Cavaco Silva, a creature of Washington and the big banks, announced that the leftwing would not be permitted to form a government, just as the senior British general announced that a Labour Government formed by Jeremy Corbyn would not be permitted to form.True to her word, Anibal reappointed the austerity prime minister, Passos Coelho. However, the unity of the socialists with the communists and the left bloc swept Coelho from office and the president had to recognize a new government.

The new government means that for the first in a long time there is a government in Portugual that possibly could represent the people rather than Washington and the One Percent. However, if the new government leaves the banks in charge and remains committed to the EU, the current president, previous prime minister, and previous finance minister, Maria Luis Albuquerque, will continue to work to overthrow the people’s will as occurred in Greece.

The new Portuguese government cannot escape austerity without nationalizing the banks and leaving the EU. The failure of the Greek government to bite the bullet resulted in the Greek government’s acceptance of the austerity that it was elected to oppose.

People shout slogans outside the Portuguese parliament during a protest by Portugal's main union CGTP, General Confederation of the Portuguese Workers, against cuts in salaries and pensions and others austerity measures taken by the government, in Lisbon, Thursday, July 10, 2014.
© AP Photo/ Francisco Seco
Fears of Europe-Wide Anti-EU Revolt as Portuguese Leftists Claim Majority

In order to put the One Percent on the defensive, the new Portuguese government should begin investigations of Silva, Coelho, and Albuquerque.  It is possible that they received payoffs for turning Portugal over to the One Percent to be looted. The new Portuguese government should turn to the BRICS for trade and finance.Otherwise, as in Greece, the Portuguese people will be defeated by the institutional arrangements comprising the Global World Order that the One Percent have put in place.

The Greeks are being publicly looted in full view by the One Percent, and the Greek government has submitted to the total ruination of Greece and the Greek people.

The same will happen to the Portuguese if the new government thinks that it can rule in a framework designed for rule by the One Percent. Without a Revolution, western peoples are doomed to penury and defeat. But there is no sign of a revolution in Portugal.

A supporter of the Portuguese Socialist Party carries a Portuguese flag while waiting for the arrival of the party leader Antonio Costa during a campaign action in Lisbon Tuesday, Sept. 29 2015.
© AP Photo/ Armando Franca
Portuguese Election Poll ‘Dead Heat’ Leads to Showdown Between Main Rivals

According to the Financial Times, representatives of the new socialist government have given reassurance that the new government will not abandon the austerity policies. Mario Centeno declared: “It’s not the direction we challenge, but the speed of travel.”Centeno is a Harvard-trained neoliberal economist.  He told the Financial Times that the new government was committed to remaining in the EU and would continue with the austerity program, only at a slower pace in order to reduce the adverse effects on employment.  Centeno says that the new government has no intention of seeking debt writedowns. “Nobody with any sense thinks of not paying debts thay have contracted.”

In other words, things had to change in order to remain the same.

In his new book, Killing The Host, economist Michael Hudson makes many things clear, foremost of which is that as long as neoliberal economics reigns, so will the One Percent.

In the Western world democracy has been decapitated.  In Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Latvia, and the United States itself, there is no connection between the will of the people and the policies of the government. Only in tiny Iceland did the people prevail over the banks. Everywhere else the people are forced to pay for the gambling losses and leveraged debts of the financial sector.

What we are witnessing is the re-enserfment of Western peoples.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Sputnik.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/columnists/20151112/1029997606/portuguese-revolution-falls-far-short.html#ixzz3rKQZReSs

Anti-austerity coalition including Communists brings down Portugal’s government
worker | November 10, 2015 | 10:30 pm | Communist Party Portugal, Economy, political struggle | Comments closed

 

https://www.rt.com/news/321482-portugal-austerity-govt-down/
Left parties vote at the end of a debate on government programs at the parliament in Lisbon, Portugal November 10, 2015 © Rafael Marchante
Left parties vote at the end of a debate on government programs at the parliament in Lisbon, Portugal November 10, 2015 © Rafael Marchante / Reuters
Portugal’s pro-austerity government has been forced to resign by a leftist anti-austerity block, despite being sworn in only two weeks ago.

Proposals to continue austerity policies were blocked in parliament, backed by mass public anger, forcing the government to dissolve.

The moderate Socialists worked with the Communist Party and radical Left Bloc to form a majority that voted down fresh austerity proposals today.

Following the October 4th general election, the anti-austerity leftist majority was explicitly prevented from forming a government by the president, citing ‘the national interest’.

One of Europe’s troubled PIGS, Portugal took a €78 billion bailout in 2011 and since then has spiraled into austerity dead-end fueling mass social unrest and emigration.

Sweeping cuts and increased taxes led to large street protests and strikes. Unemployment peaked at 17.7% in 2013.

Anti-austerity supporters are already celebrating the fall of the right-wing administration.
The attempt to sideline anti-austerity politics sent shock waves through Europe, but was largely ignored in Brussels, where protecting shaky austerity plans from democratic upheaval seemed paramount.

Ameera David of RT’s Boom Bust warns Portugal is not out of the woods yet: “This new alliance rejects the austerity drive which means we could see a huge realignment in fiscal policies. It’s also unknown what kind of implications this move will have on Portugal’s EU standing.”

While the socialist party has argued it will respect the policies of the Eurozone, the PS will now be working with two parties that want to repeal pro-market reforms. In fact, the communist party has openly campaigned to leave the Euro.