Housing, regionalization and primaries among the 25 concrete proposals to be discussed at the Livre congress

Improving the open primary process, strengthening public housing policies or a national referendum on regionalization in 2026 are among the topics of 25 specific proposals to be discussed at the 14th Free Congress.

The main meeting will take place at the Municipal Pavilion of the Costa de Caparica, in the municipality of Almada, Setubal district, and on Friday the work will be exclusively “online” and only until the closing of the congress regulations.

The political debate will begin on Saturday and end on Sunday and, in addition to the election of new national bodies for 2024-2026 and the approval of the electoral program for the European elections on June 9, Livre members and activists will discuss 25 “specific” proposals dedicated to various topics.

One of the topics is the party’s open primaries, an internal process that has recently caused controversy and some internal disagreement in the selection of the head of the list for the European elections, leader Francisco Pauperio.

Improving the results of primaries is one of the concerns expressed by the three lists of party leadership candidates, the Contact Group, but it is also the subject of one of the specific proposals calling for the creation of a working group.

“Having as our main motivation the constant search for a system that is most suitable for our vision of the world and politics, we propose the creation of a working group for an in-depth analysis of the processes of previous LIVRE primaries, similar processes in other European parties, as well as using the most up-to-date scientific literature on on this issue in order to prepare a new study of the primaries in Livre, which will serve as the basis for discussion of this topic within the party,” the text says.

Another proposal, whose supporters include deputy Jorge Pinto, requires Livre to defend a national referendum on regionalization in the Assembly of the Republic in 2026.

“The creation of a democratic regional authority on the Portuguese mainland will certainly contribute to the renewal of the Portuguese democratic system, making it more flexible and autonomous to the detriment of the current centralization and hierarchy, creating an intermediate level of political decision-making closer to the territory. and the population, which horizontalizes and mediates the relationship between the central government and the local government,” the text says.

The proposal, titled “National Priority: Investing in Public and Cooperative Housing,” and backed by directors Patricia Robalo and Ana Luis Natario, both B-list candidates for manager, argues that access to affordable housing “requires a determined continuation of investment in the coming decades into public and co-operative housing to increase the non-speculative housing stock.”

Supporters invite Livre to discuss measures in this area with the rest of the parties in Parliament, namely “ways in which the private sector can participate in the promotion of affordable housing through attractive financial mechanisms” and propose a “more ambitious program of housing cooperatives.” “

Another text, to be voted on this weekend at the main meeting, has four Livre deputies as supporters, among other leaders, and defends “full equality” in the party, strengthening “actions on internal accessibility and inclusion that reject forms of ableism.” and gender inequality.”

Among the measures proposed are training leaders and staff on good practices for inclusivity and accessibility, as well as gender equality, collaboration with activists and experts, or even making communication materials produced by the party more accessible.

Sports as “a space for cooperation, inclusion, equality and freedom”, combating hate speech, “more ecology in the political actions of the Livre” or the creation of programs to support journalistic work are also among the topics of the 25th conference. documents submitted to Congress.