The Central Committee of the PCP, meeting January 20, 2026, analysed the elections for President of the Republic, assessed developments in the national and international situation, and addressed aspects of the Party's activity, political initiative, and strengthening.

I

Elections for President of the Republic

1. The results of the elections for President of the Republic held on January18 are a negative factor in national political life. These elections reveal the growth of anti-democratic expressions resulting from the systematic and continuous promotion of reactionary forces and their demagogic actions, embodied in the candidacies of André Ventura, Cotrim de Figueiredo, Gouveia e Melo and Marques Mendes. The ballots obtained by Marques Mendes, supported by the PSD and CDS, in a campaign marked by his alignment with the Government, are an indication of the Government's frailty. With António José Seguro and André Ventura going through to the second round, the possibility of a commitment to right-wing policies in the exercise of presidential functions cannot be ruled out.

2. The candidacy of António Filipe for President of the Republic proved to be necessary and irreplaceable. A left-wing and patriotic candidacy that affirmed work and workers' rights as a central issue; rejected the Country's submission to economic power; affirmed national sovereignty and independence, defended peace and rejected militarism and war; continued the legacy of struggle for democratic freedoms and rights and against fascism. A candidacy that clearly championed full compliance with the Constitution of the Republic and the defence and promotion of the values of April.

A candidacy that, like no other, denounced the real objectives of candidacies with a strong anti-democratic and subversive bent against the Constitution, as well as the compromise of others with essential aspects of right-wing politics and the refusal to take a firm stance against reactionary forces and projects.

A candidacy that, with clarity, conviction and courage, made a unique contribution to focus the political debate on what was truly at stake in these elections in terms of the exercise of presidential powers and what these could contribute to the necessary rupture and change that the life of the Country demands.

3. The result obtained by the candidacy of António Filipe – 92,589 votes and 1.64% – falls short of what is needed to address the problems affecting the workers, the people and the Country. This result was heavily influenced by blackmail and fearmongering regarding voting choices, given the insistence on presenting the possibility of a second round between two reactionary candidates.

This result had to contend with unequal treatment, marked by belittlement and prejudice, the promotion and favouring of other candidates, increasing manipulation and conditioning, and a focus on trivialities to hide and conceal the real agreement between other candidacies on crucial issues of national life.

4. The Central Committee of the PCP considers that, given the candidates standing in the second round, it is imperative to prevent the possibility of becoming President of the Republic someone who, in addition to his commitment to right-wing politics and sharing many of the current Government's views, has an agenda dictated by reactionary, retrograde and anti-democratic criteria and concepts that are in conflict with the Constitution of the Republic. To prevent André Ventura from being elected President of the Republic, it is necessary to defeat his candidacy, and the only possible vote to defeat it is to vote for António José Seguro. This option does not imply support for this candidate or his political position.

5. The Central Committee of the PCP salutes the militants of the Party and the JCP, the members of the PEV and the ID, the democrats and patriots who, through their actions, contributed to the affirmation and promotion of the candidacy of António Filipe.

The Central Committee of the PCP salutes all those who have expressed their support for the candidacy of António Filipe, emphasising that this support will translate, beyond the elections, into the struggle against right-wing politics, reactionary and anti-democratic projects, and for a better life, for rights, democracy, development, Peace, and for the aspirations of the workers and the people for a fairer Portugal.

6. The Central Committee of the PCP stresses the need for intervention to ensure the defeat of the reactionary candidacy, political initiative and mass action to confront the Government's policies and projects, and stresses that, beyond the elections and what is decided in them, the action of the workers and the popular masses is decisive.

II

International situation

1. The military aggression against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the abduction of its President, Nicolás Maduro, as well as the assault on oil tankers and the intensification of warmongering threats and coercive measures directed by the US against various countries around the world - including Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, Iran, as well as the territory of Greenland - constitute a new and more dangerous step in the policy of confrontation pursued by US imperialism, in violation of the principles of the UN Charter and international law, with profound implications for the development of the international situation.

2. In view of the serious difficulties and obvious contradictions affecting the US and the other imperialist powers gathered in the G7, US imperialism is seeking, by all means at its disposal, to safeguard its dominance and establish its supremacy on the world stage, betting on increased confrontation, attacks on the sovereignty and rights of peoples, in an attempt to impose neocolonial tutelage and control and plunder of resources.

Using its economic, military and political power and relying on the subordination of the other powers of NATO, the European Union and the G7, the US is intensifying blackmail, destabilisation and aggression, aiming to isolate countries that assert their sovereignty and rights, prevent or contain their development, and neutralise, dismantle and hinder their bilateral or multilateral cooperation, in which the dynamics of cooperation of the People's Republic of China plays an important role.

This action is accompanied in many countries by attacks on labour and social rights, democratic freedoms and rights, and the promotion of anti-democratic, reactionary and fascistic ideas, forces and projects by big capital.

The escalation of confrontation carried out by the US is inseparable from the impasses and lack of solutions they face in overcoming serious domestic problems, as well as from the resistance and struggle of the workers and peoples, who show that US imperialism does not have a free hand to impose its intentions.

3. In view of the aggressive escalation led by US imperialism, with the threats it poses to the sovereignty and rights of peoples, and for the future of Humanity, the struggle of the workers and peoples for Peace, rights, sovereignty, internationalist solidarity, as well as the convergence of a broad anti-imperialist front that contains and pushes back imperialism and paves the way for the construction of a new international order of peace and social progress, is decisive.

The Central Committee of the PCP calls for solidarity with the peoples who resist the threats, interference and aggression of imperialism. With the struggle of the Palestinian people for the implementation of their national rights and for an end to the policy of genocide that continues to be practised by Israel with the complicity of the US, NATO and the EU. With Bolivarian Venezuela and the struggle of the Venezuelan people in defence of their homeland and for the release of President Nicolás Maduro and MP Cilia Flores from US prison. With socialist Cuba and for an end to the blockade imposed by the US. With the peoples of Latin America, the Middle East and the world who are facing the action of imperialism, defending their sovereignty and rights.

4. Developments in the international situation highlight the nature of capitalism and the action of imperialism and the topicality of the communist ideal and project as a perspective for a fairer society and world.

III

National situation, mass struggle, initiative and strengthening of the Party

1. The action of the PSD/CDS Government confirms the class nature of its policies. These policies have been met with resistance from the workers and people, which has led to social and political isolation of the Government. This struggle creates the conditions necessary to affirm and build the alternative policies that the Country needs and that the scale of the problems demands. The intervention, initiative and strengthening of the Party are an essential condition for an effective break with the right-wing policies pursued by the current Government and to reopen the path to progress that April laid out.

2. Recent developments confirm the intensification of the offensive on the political, economic, social and cultural fronts which, based on the actions of the PSD/CDS Government, supported by Chega and IL and counting on the complicit permissiveness of the PS, continues to implement the agenda of big capital, aiming to defend and promote its direct interests. This offensive intensifies exploitation, exacerbates injustices and degrades living conditions, jeopardises economic development and the sovereign affirmation of national interests, insists on the Labour Package, attacks fundamental rights and public services, promotes privatisation, and pursues the so-called reform of the State, reconfiguring it to serve strictly the interests of economic groups. This offensive has an intense and coordinated ideological dimension, which, through powerful media means, aims to promote concepts that favour the agenda of big capital and reactionary forces.

New decisions are continuing and intensifying a policy that, in the face of every problem, acts to open doors to favour the interests of economic groups, always to the detriment of the response to those problems.

This is the case in healthcare, with new steps being taken to attack the National Health Service, whether through the disastrous policy of concentrating emergency services or through the open refusal to value and hire healthcare professionals, to which is now added the extension to medical emergencies of options that jeopardise the lives of the Portuguese people; this is also the case in education, where the shortage of teachers and problems in schools are becoming more acute; this is also the case in housing, where, faced with a situation of denial of access to this right, new and scandalous tax benefits are being introduced that will only promote real estate speculation; this is the case in handing over to capital the levers and instruments necessary for the Country's development, as exemplified by the new steps in the criminal privatisation of TAP or the announced deal between GALP (in which the State holds an 8% stake) and Moeve (formerly CEPSA), which increases the risks for the Sines refinery, the last Portuguese refinery, and further jeopardises energy sovereignty and security; this is the case with the acceptance of the EU/Mercosur agreement, which poses a serious threat to productive sectors, particularly small and medium-sized agriculture and family farming; this is the case with the diversion of billions of euros in tax revenue to monopoly capital, reducing public resources and compromising the social functions of the State.

A policy that, by promoting the colossal accumulation of profits in the main economic groups, direct and privileged beneficiaries of the reduction in IRC corporate tax and other tax benefits, heightens the injustices and inequalities present in Portuguese society. The continued increase in the prices of an extensive list of products and services, starting with food, contrasts with the insufficient increase in the value of pensions and wages, particularly the National Minimum Wage, contributing to inequalities in the distribution of wealth.

3. The Central Committee of the PCP stresses the vital role of the struggle of the working class, the workers and the people.

The December 11 General Strike was a powerful affirmation of the strength of the workers and a clear demonstration of rejection of the Labour Package that the PSD/CDS Government, supported by Chega and IL, insists on pushing forward. This struggle was significantly expressed in the demonstration held on January 13, called by the CGTP-IN, which was participated by thousands of workers, and in the handing to the Prime Minister of a petition with more than 190,000 signatures demanding the withdrawal of the Labour Package. This struggle is an important impetus to confront and defeat right-wing politics and affirm the path of justice and social progress that the workers, the people and the Country need.

The Central Committee of the PCP salutes the willingness, involvement and participation of the workers, the population and youth, who have taken in their hands the resistance and the struggle for rights, against social regression, for public services, for a better life, for a developed and sovereign Country.

The situation of the Country, the economic and social problems, the government's offensive, with its policy of increasing exploitation and impoverishment, require the development of the struggle of the workers and the people for higher wages and pensions, the defence of rights and the improvement of living conditions, the defence and strengthening of public services, the right to housing, and their convergence for a break with right-wing politics and the materialisation of a political alternative.

4. The Central Committee of the PCP valorises the Party's intervention in its general action, in defence of the rights of the workers and people, against the Labour Package, in defence and valorisation of the National Health Service, in the elections for President of the Republic and in defence of Peace and internationalist solidarity.

In view of developments in the national and international situation, the following immediate tasks are on the table: the holding of meetings of the leadership bodies and plenary sessions of militants to assess the political situation and take the initiative, and the holding of rallies and public sessions as part of the action “Another course for the Country. Reject the Labour Package, exploitation and injustice” and in the intervention on the presidential elections; stimulate the development of the mass struggle for workers' wages and rights and the withdrawal of the Labour Package, in defence of public services, the NHS, Public Schools, Social Security and the right to housing; the initiatives for the 105th. anniversary of the Party, the 95th. anniversary of Avante! and the preparation of the 50th. edition of the Avante! Festival; the celebrations of March 8, International Women's Day, March 24, National Students' Day, and March 28, National Youth Day; the celebrations of the 50th. anniversary of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic and the popular celebrations of 25 April; the May Day struggle on May 1st.; action to strengthen unitary organisations; the convergence of democrats and patriots; the struggle for peace and internationalist solidarity.

5. In the specific situation we are currently experiencing, there is a need to implement the guidelines of the XXII Congress in order to strengthen the Party, which is a decisive factor for the workers, the people and the Country, namely:

- Deepening the connection with the masses and promoting bold intervention linked to the problems and aspirations of the workers and populations, anchored in knowledge of reality, energising and organising the struggle, taking the initiative based on the most pressing concrete issues;

- The implementation of the general movement to strengthen leadership and structuring work, linked to the accountability of cadres, in the various aspects pointed out by the XXII Congress, including the holding in 2026 of assemblies of organisations that have not held them since 2022;

- The general accountability of cadres, within the scope of the objective of attributing responsibilities to 1,000 new cadres, and the implementation of political and ideological training actions;

- The recruitment of new militants and their integration;

- The promotion of a broad contact to encourage accountability, increase militancy and update data, with the handing of new Party membership cards, to be implemented from the beginning of March;

- Working to strengthen the Party's intervention and organisation among the working class and workers, in companies and workplaces, with measures for the regular functioning of existing cells and the creation of new ones within the scope of the objective of 100 new cells;

- Support for the JCP and the development of work with the youth and other specific groups and areas;

- The systematisation and intensification of propaganda and the dissemination of the Party press;

- The continuation of measures to guarantee the Party's financial independence, with an emphasis on the importance of membership dues.

*****

With confidence in the workers and popular masses and in the development of the struggle, with the strengthening of the PCP and its connection to the workers and the people, it is possible to defeat the Labour Package and right-wing politics and pave the way for the defence of peace, development and social progress, the construction of a patriotic and left-wing alternative, of the Advanced Democracy with the Values of April in Portugal's future, of socialism and communism.