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Portugal

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What’s the chance of a progressive government in Lisbon?

Last Sunday 4 October Passos Coelho’s right-wing coalition won the most votes in general elections in Portugal but failed to win a majority in parliament. Since then the man who’s imposed on Portugal some of the harshest austerity measures in Europe has been trying win the backing of the opposition Socialists. If the Socialists refuse … Continue reading

Poster turned problem child Portugal doesn’t need more austerity pain

Former poster child Portugal is coming under renewed pressure from the IMF to make deep spending cuts amid the highest overall debt levels in the EU, concerns about job creation and rising ‘bad’ non-performing loans. Barely a year after a much trumpeted exit from the Troika’s punishing three year adjustment program.  But Portuguese economist Ricardo Paes … Continue reading

Portugal’s poll-leading Socialists propose making pensioners pay for ‘anti-austerity’ budget if elected

Portugal’s socialists have come under fire for proposals that would see pensioners pay for their plans to ‘turn the page on austerity’ if they are elected in general elections in the autumn. “There is an alternative, it’s possible to turn the page on austerity and have better economic results,” Socialist leader Antonio Costa said, Reuters … Continue reading

The Troika is dead! Long live the Troika

Portuguese radicals have accused the EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker of “hypocrisy” and seeking to “continue to the policies of the Troika without the Troika.” The leader of the European Commission said Wednesday that the “troika is undemocratic, it lacks legitimacy” and and it was time to learn  “the lessons of history and not repeat the same … Continue reading

New bank, old fraud

Plans have been announced to ‘rescue’ Banco Espirito Santo  by splitting it into a “good” and “bad” bank and loaning it €4.9bn from the European bailout fund in an operation that will leave the liabilities with the Portuguese people. Rui Tavares of the Left Bloc argues it doesn’t have to be this way Portugal has witnessed … Continue reading

The fall of Ricardo Salgado, a Portuguese oligarch

A Portuguese oligarch has been arrested and his historic Espírito Santo business empire is falling apart. Can the fall out be ‘contained’?  Ricardo Espírito Santo Silva Salgado is known in Portugal as “Dono disto tudo,” or “Owner of everything.’ The oligarch’s family has been calling the shots in the country for over a century. It’s the largest shareholder of the … Continue reading

European elections: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Millions of Europeans said ‘Non’ to the EU and the neo-liberal austerity policies of the Troika in the pan-Continental elections on May 22-25.  And it wasn’t just the far right, but the radical left and new anti-austerity parties in the ‘periphery’ that delivered that unwelcome message. THE GOOD With the exception of Greece, much of the … Continue reading

Radical left could become 3rd force in EU parliament, polls show

The radical left could become the third force in the European parliament, after the conservatives and social democrats, according to recent polls. Syriza in Greece leads with 26.2 % support, followed by Portugal, Spain and France. With a month to go to the European Parliament elections, polls suggest the Parliamentary Group of the European United Left (GUE – … Continue reading

Portugal’s Revolution 40 years on: 5 Voices

In April 1974 a coup carried out by left-leaning army officers led the way to democracy in Portugal. The coup on April 25, was led by soldiers and joined by a popular resistance movement. Nowadays austerity measures are threatening the welfare state, healthcare, education, pensions, labour and all the social achievements accomplished 40 years ago. … Continue reading

Portugal and the Troika three years on 

By Catarina Oliveira Three years ago the Portuguese Government called in the Troika. “Save wages and pensions,” was the pretext but that did not happen. Today the dramatic social consequences of the entry of the Troika in Portugal are easy to analyse. A look at the figures shows the spiral of impoverishment in which the country is … Continue reading

Fast Facts: Gender Social Inequality and Austerity in Europe

Europe’s austerity fetish and longer term neo-liberal reforms promoted by Big Business, Governments and the EU Commission hurt women disproportionately. Here’s a few facts to illustrate the point.   Europe wide  The gender pay gap is around 16% It ranges from more than a quarter (27%) in Estonia to around a fiftieth (2%) in Slovenia. … Continue reading

What success? Portugal’s sovereign debt auction just a good deal for the banks

Portugal’s government bond sale this week – the first since January 2013 – was heralded in the national and international press as a storming success, and coming after a similar ‘success’  for Spain’s first big debt auction of 2014 and a ‘popular’ bond sale by Ireland, apparently indicated a sign of a turnaround in the … Continue reading

‘Ignorant’ Troika slammed for Portugal record as give-away privatisation criticised

As part of the the Troika ‘bail out’ deal of 2011, the Portuguese government agreed to a mass privatisation programme flogging off publicly owned energy, water and waste management, communications, insurance, transportation, ship-building and public broadcasters. Lisbon has reportedy already beaten its bailout target to raise 5.5 billion euros from privatisations by the end of 2013, but if … Continue reading

Portugal: Local polls to test government austerity policies

UPDATE: The local elections held in Portugal on Sunday resulted in the centre-left Socialists, the main opposition party, gaining 36.3 per cent of the vote and control of 106 of Portugal’s 308 town halls, which was their biggest local election victory to date. The governing PSD won 26.5 per cent of the vote and 99 town … Continue reading

Portugal government survives to continue austerity course, President decides

Portugal’s President Anibal Cavaco Silva on Sunday ruled out a snap election and said he wanted the right wing coalition government to stay in place to end a weeks-old political crisis and to ensure the destructive austerity measures and debt payments under the EU/IMF bailout stayed unchanged. The President had hoped for a ‘broader political … Continue reading

Twitter Updates

  • The PM promised tough action on tax transparency. We need commitments at #AntiCorruption Summit today #EndTaxHavens thndr.me/Q5M0Z9 2 weeks ago
  • RT @StatewatchEU: Refugee crisis: latest news from across Europe (21 news stories, documents and commentaries, 22-23.12.15) https://t.co/dP… 5 months ago
  • Tax Transparency Now: I've signed a petition calling on EU finance ministers to crack down on corporate tax dodging waronwant.org/cbc 5 months ago
  • Spanish General Election: Radical left Podemos + United Left (6m) overtakes, by half million votes, socialists (5.5m) at national level 5 months ago
  • RT @AlbertoNardelli: Spain election - voter turnout: 73.21%, from 68.94% in 2011. #20D 5 months ago
  • RT @ronanburtenshaw: #Podemos win the Basque Country and Catalonia, second in Madrid, third in Andalucía. #SpanishElections 5 months ago
  • RT @nickdearden75: Thousands listen to @MhairiBlack and @HackneyAbbott outside parliament. Both say #DontBombSyria https://t.co/cOwRe5ANPR 6 months ago
  • RT @kmflett: Sue Jones tells socialist history seminar early modern pirates memoirs dont mention sex but do note dolphin was more edible th… 6 months ago
  • RT @NelsonKevan: Women, communists and foreigners: the forgotten heroes of Paris, 1945 | via @Telegraph telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews… 6 months ago
  • Greece’s 50 First Days Under the New Government In Numbers. greece.greekreporter.com/2015/11/12/gre… greece.greekreporter.com/2015/11/12/gre… 6 months ago
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POPULAR FIGHTBACK

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FLORENCE’S BUS LUMACA

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FRENCH FACTORY OCCUPATION

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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

in Italy the home is a very dangerous place to be

LABOUR RIGHTS

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EUROPE NEEDS A CITIZENS’ REVOLUTION

Read the statement by Lafontaine and Melenchon

The Troika in Portugal – Three Years On

A success story?

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