Mariana Mortágua

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Rodrigues and the second or paternal family name is Mortágua.

Mariana Mortágua
Mortágua in 2023
National Coordinator of the Left Bloc
In office
28 May 2023 – 30 November 2025
Preceded byCatarina Martins
Succeeded byJosé Manuel Pureza
Member of the Assembly of the Republic
In office
31 August 2013 – 1 January 2026
Succeeded byFabian Figueiredo
ConstituencyLisbon
Personal details
BornMariana Rodrigues Mortágua
(1986-06-24) 24 June 1986 (age 39)
Alvito, Portugal
PartyLeft Bloc
Spouse
Joana Pires Teixeira
​
​
(m. 2024)​
RelativesJoana Mortágua (twin sister)
Maria João Rodrigues (cousin)
OccupationEconomist • Politician

Mariana Rodrigues Mortágua (born 24 June 1986) is a Portuguese economist and politician who was the National Coordinator of the Left Bloc, from 28 May 2023 until 30 November 2025.[1] In 2013, she was elected to the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal, replacing Ana Drago.[2]

Early life

Mortágua is the daughter of Camilo Mortágua, an anti-Salazar activist, revolutionary, and founding member of LUAR. She is the twin sister of Joana Mortágua, also MP of the Left Bloc, and distant cousin of Socialist politician Maria João Rodrigues.[3]

She holds a degree and a master's degree in Economics from ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, having completed her PhD in economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London.[4]

She made her debut as a deputy in the Assembly of the Republic at the age of 27, in 2013, due to the need to replace Ana Drago in the Lisbon constituency, where she was elected. Her appointment in September 2013 to the top positions on the list of candidates for deputies by the Political Commission of the BE was contested by a group of militants, who criticized the "technocratic criteria" that guided her choice. In view of this, the BE confirmed that Mariana Mortágua was considered as the element that "would best serve the interests of the party in the Assembly of the Republic, due to her knowledge in the area of the Economy", something that had "been felt since the departure of Francisco Louçã".[5]

She later gained particular visibility in Portuguese politics after her performance in the parliamentary inquiry of Zeinal Bava and Ricardo Salgado, in the context of the bankruptcy of the BES bank.[6]

She was re-elected as a deputy in the 2015 legislative elections, which gave the Bloco de Esquerda its highest vote ever. She was a member of the Economy and Public Works Commission, the Budget, Finance and Public Administration Commission and the Eventual Commission for Monitoring the Measures of the Financial Assistance Program for Portugal. She was re-elected as a deputy in October 2019.[7]

In September 2016, she stated that, "from a practical point of view, the first thing we have to do is lose the shame of looking for someone who is accumulating money" and that "we cannot be ashamed of having a social policy of this kind."[8]

She was again reelected in 2022, despite the poor results of the Left Bloc. After Catarina Martins decided not to run again in the upcoming Congress, Mariana Mortágua announced her candidacy to the leadership of the party, receiving wide support from party members.[9][10] On 28 May, Mariana Mortágua was elected Left Bloc's new coordinator, with the support of 493 out of 528 delegates for her motion, and 490 out of 600 delegates for her list for the BE's national board on party's convention in Lisbon.

Political views

Mortágua is interested in various humanitarian causes, especially women's rights and LGBT rights. She awakened to the cause of feminism in her youth, when she was part of the Young Association for Justice and Peace (AJP), led by feminist Teresa Cunha.

Mortágua regularly participates in LGBT pride marches. However, she stated in an interview "today the gay parades are no longer political marches, they are publicity marches", contrary to when they were a "cause against capitalism".[11][12]

Support for Palestine

In late August 2025, Portuguese politician and economist Mariana Mortágua joined the Global Sumud Flotilla, a large international initiative organized by civil society groups to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenge the Israeli naval blockade. She was one of three Portuguese figures on board, alongside actor Sofia Aparício and activist Miguel Duarte. During the trip, Mortágua criticized the Portuguese government for refusing to provide diplomatic support for the mission and expressed concern about drone surveillance of the fleet at sea.[13][14][15][16]

Personal life

In April 2023, she claimed on SIC Notícias she was being politically targeted through lawsuits filed by Marco Galinha, chairman of the Global Media Group, and Chega, a right-wing populist political party in Portugal, and noted "I know that this type of pressure and political persecution will continue and will even rise in tone and level, whether because I am a woman, because I am on the left, whether because I am a lesbian woman, whether because I am the daughter of an anti-fascist resistance fighter, or because apparently I have the gift of bothering some people with a lot of power".[17]

Publications

  • 2012 — The Portuguese debt crisis: deconstructing myths in The Political Economy of Public Debt and Austerity in the EU (with Francisco Louçã)[1]
  • 2012 — A Dividadura - Portugal na Crise do Euro
  • 2012 — Isto é um assalto
  • 2013 — Temos de Pagar a Dívida? (with Miguel Cardina, N. Serra and José Soeiro)
  • 2013 — Não acredite em tudo o que pensa. (with Francisco Louçã)
  • 2014 — A Europa à Beira do Abismo (withTony Phillips, Roberto Lavagna, Christina Laskaridis, Anzhela Knyazeva, Diana Knyazeva e Joseph Stiglitz)
  • 2015 — Privataria: Quem ganha e quem perde com as privatizações em Portugal (with Jorge Duarte Costa)
  • 2021 — No Sonho Selvagem do Alquimista
  • 2025 — Oportunidade ou Maldição - A indústria do turismo em Portugal (with Ana Drago)

Electoral history

BE leadership election, 2023

Ballot: 28 May 2023
Candidate Votes %
Mariana Mortágua 439 83.1
Pedro Soares 78 14.8
Abstentions 11 2.1
Turnout 528 80.74
Source: Results[18]

Legislative election, 2024

Main article: 2024 Portuguese legislative election
Ballot: 10 March 2024
Party Candidate Votes % Seats +/−
AD Luís Montenegro 1,867,442 28.8 80 +3
PS Pedro Nuno Santos 1,812,443 28.0 78 –42
Chega André Ventura 1,169,781 18.1 50 +38
IL Rui Rocha 319,877 4.9 8 ±0
BE Mariana Mortágua 282,314 4.4 5 ±0
CDU Paulo Raimundo 205,551 3.2 4 –2
Livre Rui Tavares 204,875 3.2 4 +3
PAN Inês Sousa Real 126,125 2.0 1 ±0
ADN Bruno Fialho 102,134 1.6 0 ±0
Other parties 104,167 1.6 0 ±0
Blank/Invalid ballots 282,243 4.4 – –
Turnout 6,476,952 59.90 230 ±0
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições[19]

Legislative election, 2025

Main article: 2025 Portuguese legislative election
Ballot: 18 May 2025
Party Candidate Votes % Seats +/−
AD Luís Montenegro 2,008,488 31.8 91 +11
PS Pedro Nuno Santos 1,442,546 22.8 58 –20
Chega André Ventura 1,438,554 22.8 60 +10
IL Rui Rocha 338,974 5.4 9 +1
Livre Rui Tavares 257,291 4.1 6 +2
CDU Paulo Raimundo 183,686 2.9 3 –1
BE Mariana Mortágua 125,808 2.0 1 –4
PAN Inês Sousa Real 86,930 1.4 1 ±0
ADN Bruno Fialho 81,660 1.3 0 ±0
Other parties 95,384 1.5 1 +1
Blank/Invalid ballots 260,648 4.1 – –
Turnout 6,319,969 58.25 230 ±0
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições[20]

References

  1. ^ a b "Biografia" (in Portuguese). Assembly of the Republic (Portugal). Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  2. ^ Rego, Ricardo (12 May 2015). "Mariana Mortágua: Uma estrela da rede". Sol (in Portuguese). Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  3. ^ Frederico Batista; São José Almeida; Enric Vives-Rubio (18 April 2015). "A política é a casa deles". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Biografia". www.parlamento.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Cerca de 100 elementos do BE questionam escolha de deputada". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Lusa. 26 August 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  6. ^ "TVI". tvi.iol.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  7. ^ "Bloco de Esquerda com o seu melhor resultado de sempre". www.jornaldenegocios.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  8. ^ Sapage, Sónia (20 September 2016). "Mariana Mortágua: a frase da polémica, os críticos, os defensores e a explicação". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Mariana Mortágua anuncia candidatura a líder do BE esta segunda-feira". Expresso (in Portuguese). 26 February 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Mariana Mortágua avança para a liderança do BE". TSF Rádio Notícias (in European Portuguese). 14 February 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Mariana Mortágua fala sobre feminismo, sexismo e homofobia". dezanove.pt. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  12. ^ "As fotos e as surpresas da 16ª Marcha do Orgulho LGBT de Lisboa". dezanove.pt. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Portuguese lawmaker says she is joining global aid flotilla set to ..." Reuters. 29 August 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  14. ^ ""Na flotilha, Mortágua questiona: 'Há drones a circular...'"". Notícias ao Minuto. 2 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  15. ^ "Mortágua segue a bordo de flotilha para Gaza com estatuto parlamentar a "proteger" missão". Publico.pt. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  16. ^ "Mariana Mortágua vai integrar Flotilha Humanitária rumo a Gaza". Esquerda.net. 26 August 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  17. ^ "Mariana Mortágua acusa Chega de perseguição por ser mulher de esquerda e homossexual". SIC Notícias (in Portuguese). 25 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  18. ^ "439 votos entre 654 delegados: é oficial, Mariana Mortágua sucede a Catarina Martins". CNN Portugal. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  19. ^ "Comissão Nacional de Eleições Mapa Oficial n.º 2-A/2024" (PDF). Comissão Nacional de Eleições. 23 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  20. ^ "Mapa Oficial n.º 2-A/2025, de 31 de maio" (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Diário da República. 31 May 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariana_Mort%C3%A1gua