António Jorge Oliveira Aires Rodrigues is a Portuguese

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...

worker and politician born in

Alfarelos Alfarelos is a Freguesia (Portugal), civil parish in the municipality of Soure, Portugal, Soure, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 1,439, in an area of 13.98 km². References

Freguesias of Soure, Portugal {{Coimbra-geo-stub ...

on 21 August 1945. During

May 68 May 68 () was a period of widespread protests, strikes, and civil unrest in France that began in May 1968 and became one of the most significant social uprisings in modern European history. Initially sparked by student demonstrations agains ...

, he lived in exile in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he was a worker at the

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

factory, having taken part in the uprising and the occupation of the House of Portugal together with Fernando Pereira Marques and Vasco de Castro. A member of the PS party in 1974, he was a member of the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

elected by

Leiria Leiria () is a city and municipality in the Central Region, Portugal, Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, after Coimbra, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat o ...

. In 1977, breaking with

Mário Soares Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares (; 7 December 1924 – 7 January 2017) was a Portugal, Portuguese politician, who served as prime minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the List of Presidents of P ...

's Political Commission, he was expelled from the PS party, becoming an independent

legislator A legislator, or lawmaker, is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people, but they can be appointed, or hereditary. Legislatures may be supra-nat ...

. He founded the Workers' Party of Socialist Unity (

POUS The pous ( podes; , ''poús'') or Greek foot ( feet) was a Greek unit of length of approximately 300mm or 12 inches. It had various subdivisions whose lengths varied by place and over time. 100 podes made up one plethron, 600 podes made ...

) with Carmelinda Pereira, of

trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

and

lambertist : Pierre Lambert (; real name Pierre Boussel ; June 9, 1920 – January 16, 2008) was a French Trotskyist leader, who for many years acted as the central leader of the French Courant Communiste Internationaliste (CCI) which founded the Pa ...

inspiration. In the

1980 Portuguese presidential election Presidential elections were held in Portugal on 7 December 1980. Incumbent president General Ramalho Eanes gathered the support of the Socialist Party, despite the objection of their leader, Mário Soares, and also the support of the Portuguese ...

he was the

party candidate for

President of Portugal The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic (, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, and their relation with the prime minister ...

, obtaining a total of 12,745 votes.

References

External links

Interview with Aires Rodrigues

Aires Rodrigues on the campaign trail
1945 births Candidates for President of Portugal Living people Members of the 1st Assembly of the Republic (Portugal) Members of the Constituent Assembly (Portugal) Socialist Party (Portugal) politicians {{Portugal-politician-stub