At the end of the day of the final plenary of the legislature, the parliamentary leader of Bloco de Esquerda (Left Bloc) evaluated the legislative activity of the five Bloco MPs in the Assembly of the Republic (see document). In numbers, this activity included the presentation of 112 bills, of which 15 were approved in general and nine managed to complete the committee stage in time and will indeed become law.

Among these proposals approved in the last year, Fabian Figueiredo highlighted the update of the specific income tax deduction amount, which happened “for the first time since 2010 and made income tax fairer”. Also, the guarantee of travel allowance payment for all relocated teachers, which is still awaiting the President’s approval, deserved emphasis, as until now only some teachers had access to the travel allowance.

Another proposal approved in the final days of the legislature and also awaiting approval will benefit those suffering from endometriosis, who will be entitled to three days of justified absence without loss of pay every month. The prohibition of marriages for those under 18 years of age will mean that Portugal will no longer be negatively highlighted in UNICEF reports.

Fabian Figueiredo also highlighted the approval of the transitional rule so that donated gametes and embryos under anonymity are not destroyed. “Since 2022, treatments with gametes and since 2024, embryo treatments have been interrupted”, leading to many fertility treatments and family plans being frozen. “We managed to approve a transitional rule so that gametes and embryos donated under anonymity are not destroyed. It was through our initiative that this preservation was guaranteed and the transition plan was extended to eight years”, he congratulated himself.

Bloco de Esquerda Parliamentary Group

In addition to these bills, Bloco managed to get 26 amendment proposals to the State Budget approved, such as the one that allowed RTP to maintain the right to have advertising and thus ensure that the public service continues to have funding; half a million euros for preserving the Mirandese language; making Portuguese Sign Language an official means of communication and expression of the Portuguese State; ensuring that the Government does not alter the public service employment law behind Parliament’s back; and that insulin pumps have a 100% contribution and are dispensed in community pharmacies.

Despite the right-wing majority, Bloco sought to “use all opportunities to change people’s lives”

“Each day of this mandate was dedicated to monitoring government action and using all opportunities to change people’s lives. This was possible even with a markedly right-wing Parliament. It is with this awareness of duty fulfilled that the five MPs that Bloco de Esquerda elected now head to the election campaign”, continued Fabian Figueiredo, concluding the legislative production account with 101 resolution projects, of which 32 were approved, 291 questions and 17 requests to the Government, in addition to various votes of greeting or condemnation.

Challenged by journalists to choose the bills that he most regretted seeing rejected, the parliamentary leader of Bloco responded with the proposal to set a cap on housing rental prices, promising that it “will be a priority in the campaign and in the next legislature”. He also added the proposal to recognise the state of Palestine and use legal tools to ensure that there is no importation of products from Israeli settlements in the occupied territories.

Regarding the inquiry committees, Fabian Figueiredo regretted that there was no majority to approve the proposal for an inquiry committee into Global Media’s business dealings. “It’s not because they threaten Bloco MPs with legal proceedings, as Luís Bernardo did, that we will stop doing our work”, said the MP, adding that “what is becoming known through journalistic work shows that there should have been a majority to make this inquiry committee viable”.

As for Chega’s potestative inquiry committee into the so-called “twin case”, Fabian Figueiredo maintains the opinion that “it should not have existed”, considering that “the report of the General Inspection of Health Activities already provided sufficient clarification, what was criminal matter is for the Public Prosecutor to investigate” and what was clear “from the beginning that what Chega wanted was to degrade the institutions, it was evident in each meeting” and even more so in the end with a genuine “institutional assault”. “It was the first time we saw a party leader replace a rapporteur to present a report that should have been presented to the CPI”, he concluded.

In his farewell, Fabian Figueiredo thanked civil society for mobilising so that Parliament would commemorate the 25^th of April with a solemn session, which was unanimously approved this Wednesday at the conference of parliamentary leaders, “unlike last week’s meeting” in which the right questioned this possibility.

Esquerda

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