I have to admit, I moved to Portugal without educating myself about its politics. I had visited plenty of times and loved so many things about the country. Now that I am getting better at speaking Portuguese, I have been watching the news and trying to learn as much as possible about Portugal’s politics. I figured if you are brand new to Portugal’s political scene like I was, that I’d save you some time on research. Here is a super simple breakdown of the major political parties of Portugal.
A List of the Major Political Parties in Portugal
As far as I know, there are nine (9) major political parties in Portugal. To me, they seem to be pretty different from each other. I will list them here with a breakdown of the basic stands of each party.
If you are Portuguese, please leave a comment. I would love to hear what you have to say about the parties.
As far as I know, there are nine (9) major political parties in Portugal. To me, they seem to be pretty different from each other. I will list them here with a breakdown of the basic stands of each party.
If you are Portuguese, please leave a comment. I would love to hear what you have to say about the parties.
This is a left-leaning party formed in 1999. They are closer to the policied of the PCP (Portuguese Communist Party) but more liberal. This is the party that supports racial equality, feminism, and works towards environmental improvements. It is considered to be the 3rd most popular political party in Portugal.
The People’s Party was founded in ’74 during the Carnation Revolution. They are national conservatives and economic liberals. The party pushes for a free market and are anti-abortion. Seems similar to the Republican party in the USA, particularly since they were based on a “Christian Democracy”.
The “Enough” Party. To me, they seem like the Trump version of Republicans in the US. This is the far-right populist party. This party is anti-immigration, and they don’t seem to like human rights. It is a new party, but is is growing.
The Liberal Initiative became a Portuguese Political Party in 2017. They are more liberal in their politics both when it comes to finances and to social issues. It seems they are working to strike a balance between capitalism and social causes. I was told this is a pro-Europe party.
This new, but growing party (founded in 2009), reminds me of PETA. They are middle of the road on financial issues, but when it comes to nature, animal rights, and social issues…they are quite passionate.
Yup. There are plenty of communists in Portugal (and they throw one of the best festivals in Portugal. The Partido Comunista Português has its basis on
Marxism-Leninism and a Communism. They run on a platform of better wages, but are socially conservative, so – for example – they are against Euthanasia.
The Green Party (Environmentalist Party) is socialist and closely associated with the PCP. They are closer to PAN on their environmental stands but are against Capitalism.
This is the ruling party at the moment. It is a socialist democratic political party that has been around since 1973. Antonio Costa, the Prime Minister of Portugal, and Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the UN are members of the party. Their politics are more center-left.
This is the other main party in Portugal. Although their name makes it seem that they would be liberal, but from what I have been told, they are more like the GOP.
Hi Blanca. I´d like to share my views on this post.
First off, there is a crucial difference between Europe and the US as far as the political spectrum goes. The political center in Europe is much more shifted towards the left than its American counterpart.
Secondly, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) is much more like the Democratic Party in the US. Not at all like the GOP.
Also beware of the word “liberal”. It’s the trickiest word ever in politics. For instance, in the US, if someone is a liberal it means that that person leans towards the left – am I correct?
Actually, at least in Europe, the term liberal applies to parties that defend less market regulation and the primacy of the private sector (also called neo-liberals). “Iniciativa Liberal” is one such example.
Hope this helped
Hi Raquel,
Thank you!!! As I mentioned I am new here and I have a lot to learn.
How do you feel Portugal compares to the rest of Europe when it comes to being on the left/right of the political spectrum?
Yup. In the US someone liberal leans left. This is so good to know, it will make things so much clearer when I’m listening to the news.
This is exactly what I was looking for.
Blanca 🙂
PS – How’s the puppy?
From what I hear the PCP are communists in name only. They apparently own vast amounts of land and property by the way.