Earth Party

The Earth Party Movement – Earth Party

Movimento o Partido da Terra – Partido da Terra
The Earth Party Movement – Earth Party Movimento o Partido da Terra – Partido da Terra
President	Pedro Pimenta
Founded	12 August 1993
Headquarters	Lisbon
Youth wing	Juventude pela Terra
Ideology	Green conservatism; Liberalism;
Political position	Centre-right
International affiliation	World Ecological Parties
Colours	Green
Assembly of the Republic	0 / 230
European Parliament	0 / 21
Regional Parliaments	0 / 104
Local government; (Mayors)	0 / 308
Local government; (Parishes)	1 / 3,066
Election symbol
Website
	www.mpt.pt
	Politics of Portugal; Political parties; Elections;

The Earth Party (Portuguese: Partido da Terra, pronounced [pɐɾˈtiðu ðɐ ˈtɛʁɐ]), previously called The Earth Party Movement (Movimento Partido da Terra, abbreviated MPT, hence called MPT – Partido da Terra), is a green-conservative^[1] political party in Portugal, founded on 12 August 1993. Its main political priorities are the promotion of environmental-friendly policies and the preservation of the national and cultural heritage of Portugal and of the remaining Portuguese-language countries.^[1]

Between 2005 and 2009, the party had two Deputies in the Assembly of the Republic: Pedro Quartin Graça and Luís Carloto Marques, elected on the lists of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), following an agreement with its then leader, Pedro Santana Lopes.

The President of the party is Pedro Pimenta, a night watchman, elected in 2020.

The party has participated in a number of coalitions with the major centre-right parties in Portugal, namely the PSD and People's Party (CDS–PP). The MPT was a member of the European People's Party group during the eighth term of the European Parliament,^[5] having previously been a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)^[6] and an observer member of the Liberal International.^[7]

History

2009 European Parliament elections

In April 2009, the party announced in a joint press conference with the leader of the pan-European alliance Libertas.eu Declan Ganley that it would run for the 2009 European Parliament election with an open electoral list under the banner of Libertas.^[8] While not against European integration, MPT demands more accountability and transparency from the European Union, and the pursuit of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in Portugal.^[9] In the elections, MPT received 24,062 votes (0.67% of the votes).

2009 Legislative elections

For the 2009 Portuguese legislative election, MPT formed a coalition with the Humanist Party on mainland Portugal that received 0.22% of the votes. Including MPT's votes in Azores and Madeira, where they ran a list on their own, they reached 0.28% nationwide. However, the 2009 local elections were a success in terms of the number of people elected, as MPT elected two councilors, 17 municipal assembly members and 47 parish councilor posts.

2011 Elections

In the 2011 Portuguese legislative election, MPT stood under its own open lists throughout Portugal and achieved 0.41% of the national vote, catapulting it from 14th to 8th place overall in comparison to the 2009 Portuguese legislative election. This was largely due to its more professional campaigning – it employed a campaign manager for the first time – and the inclusion in its lists of a number of popular celebrities.

In the 2011 Madeira regional election the Party elected one Legislative Assembly member despite a fall in its number of votes of 0.3%.

2014 European Parliament elections

MPT achieved its first major electoral success independent of any coalition, in the 2014 European Parliament election, winning 7.14% of the vote and electing two MEPs: the former chairman of the Portuguese Bar Association António Marinho e Pinto (who subsequently left the party due to personal differences with his fellow MEP) and the lawyer José Inácio Faria.

On 21 November 2014, the MPT was admitted as a full member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) at the ALDE congress in Lisbon.^[10]

2014 Party Congress

MPT held its IX Party Congress on 22 November 2014 in Lisbon, where incumbent president John Rosas Baker announced his intention not to stand for reelection and was replaced by MEP José Inácio Faria.

2015 Legislative elections

The party contested the 2015 legislative election under its own open lists but, in what was widely considered a fiasco, failed to improve on its 2009 Portuguese legislative election result, gaining less than 0.5% of the popular vote and failing to elect any MPs to the Assembly of the Republic.

2018 Financial insolvency

On 21 and 22 October 2018, the MPT had its bank accounts blocked due to a court decision and financial liabilities. As a consequence, the party fell into insolvency. The then-party leader Luís Vicente informed the public about this situation on 21 December 2018.^[11]

2019 Legislative elections

The 2019 legislative elections, which were contested under MPT's own open lists, had a disastrous outcome, with the party losing practically half of its previous votes.

2022 Legislative elections

MPT contested the 2022 legislative elections under its own open lists, ending up losing more than half of the votes previously held for the second consecutive time.

Election results

Assembly of the Republic

Election	Leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/-	Government
1995	Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles	8,235	0.1 (#10)	0 / 230		No seats
1999		019,938	0.4 (#7)	0 / 230	0	No seats
2002		15,540	0.3 (#7)	0 / 230	0	No seats
2005	Paulo Trancoso	with PPD/PSD		2 / 230	2	Opposition
2009	Pedro Quartin Graça [pt]	Ecology and Humanism		0 / 230	2	No seats
2011	Pedro Quartin Graça [pt]	22,705	0.4 (#8)	0 / 230	0	No seats
2015	José Inácio Faria	22,596	0.4 (#11)	0 / 230	0	No seats
2019	Manuel Ramos	12,952	0.2 (#14)	0 / 230	0	No seats
2022	Pedro Pimenta	6,437	0.1 (#16)	0 / 230	0	No seats
2024	Pedro Pimenta	Alternative 21		0 / 230	0	No seats

European Parliament

Election	List Leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	EP Group
1994		12,955	0.4 (#8)	0 / 25		–
1999	Paulo Trancoso	13,924	0.4 (#8)	0 / 25	0
2004	Luís Filipe Marques	13,671	0.4 (#9)	0 / 24	0
2009	Pedro Quartin Graça [pt]	24,062	0.7 (#8)	0 / 22	0
2014	António Marinho e Pinto	234,788	7.2 (#4)	2 / 21	2	ALDE
2019	Paulo de Morais	with NC		0 / 21	2	–
2024	Manuel Carreira	4,610	0.1 (#15)	0 / 21	0	–

Regional Assemblies

Region	Election	Leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/-	Government
Azores	2024	José Olívio Arranhado	Alternative 21		0 / 57	0	No seats
Madeira	2024	Valter Rodrigues	577	0.4 (#13)	0 / 47	0	No seats

References

^ ^a ^b ^c José M. Magone (2015). "Portugal". In Donatella M. Viola (ed.). Routledge Handbook of European Elections. Routledge. p. 364. ISBN 978-1-317-50363-7.
^ Close, Caroline (2019). "The liberal party family ideology: Distinct, but diverse". In Close, Caroline; van Haute, Emilie (eds.). Liberal Parties in Europe. Routledge. pp. 338–339. ISBN 9781351245487.
^ Tom Lansford, ed. (2013). Political Handbook of the World 2013. SAGE Publications. p. 1172. ISBN 978-1-4522-5825-6.
^ "Members – World Ecological Parties". Retrieved 7 January 2024.
^ "portugal | MEP MEMBER INDEX | EPP Group in the European Parliament". www.eppgroup.eu. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013.
^ "ALDE Party members | ALDE Party". ALDE Party | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 July 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Libertas and MPT announce European election partnership" Archived 4 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine, 27 April 2009, http://www.libertas.eu/ Archived 4 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Europeias: MPT quer referendo em Portugal e é contra Tratado de Lisboa" Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, 27 April 2009, Correio do Minho
^ "ALDE Party welcomes new member parties". aldeparty.eu. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
^
- Original press release: Vicente, Luís (21 December 2018). "SITUAÇÃO DE INSOLVÊNCIA FINANCEIRA DO MPT" (PDF) (in European Portuguese). Lisboa: MOVIMENTO PARTIDO DA TERRA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- Google Translation: Vicente, Luís (21 December 2018). "SITUATION OF FINANCIAL INSOLVENCY" (PDF). Lisboa: EARTH PARTY MOVEMENT. Archived from the original (pdf) on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.