Anabela Rodrigues is the first black Portuguese woman in the European Parliament | Social questions

She is a member of Bloco de Esquerda (BE), one of the voices in the fight against racism and “fortress Europe”, social and cultural mediator, president of the Lisbon Oppressed Theater Group, “artivist” and, on Tuesday, March 26, made history by becoming the first black Portuguese woman to have a seat in the European Parliament.

Anabela Rodrigues, 47 years old, has already run in two European elections and was part of the BE lists in the legislative elections on March 10th, in the Lisbon circle, in 4th place. She was left out of the Assembly of the Republic, but has now replaced Marisa Matias in the European Parliament, at least until the European elections taking place between the 6th and 9th of June.

The change was announced by the former MEP who sits in the Assembly of the Republic for the first time. “How proud it will be to hear your voice in Europe”, she wrote, on Instagram, about Anabela Rodrigues, who thus joins BE’s second MEP in Brussels, José Gusmão.

The MEP is the daughter of Cape Verdean parents, was born in Lisbon and grew up in the neighborhood of Cova da Moura, in Amadora, where she still lives. In one of the speeches during the electoral campaign, she introduced herself as “Maria’s daughter, a woman from a former Portuguese colony, a domestic and cleaning worker during her life in Portugal”, an introduction she used to show that her mother’s story, in the 1970s , still mirrors that of many other immigrants who, nowadays, choose the country to live. “The interest in making politics visible has always been there because I think it’s important to represent oneself and not be in representation of others. I believe we should talk about our pain in our own voice”, she says, to P3.

Anabela Rodrigues ran as an independent for a seat in the European Parliament in 2019 and, in the legislative elections on March 10, she joined BE, as it is the party that most “represents” her: in addition to being founded by a black woman, Helena Lopes da Silva, was the first to receive it as a pro-immigration activist.

“It’s a first possibility that I hope will open doors for others”, she says, about being the first Portuguese MEP of African descent. “We have had many parties over time that have been able to do this. Even if it is something symbolic, it has to do with our representation as a country. The path is made by walking.”

During the electoral campaign, Anabela Rodrigues defended greater representation of black and immigrant deputies in the Assembly, since, she highlighted, everyone has the right to participate “in making decisions” that affect them. “We don’t want to be folklore, we want to be involved in building a fairer country. And being fairer means defending the rights of black men and women in Portugal,” she said, in February, in an interview with News Diary.

The MEP is a leader of the association for the defense of immigrants’ rights (Solim) and was part of the campaign “For another Nationality Law”, which called for Portuguese nationality for those born in Portugal, a cause that is close to her and on which she has worked for decades.

“We always feel this firsthand as migrants, non-white or black people who were born here. Most of my friends are foreigners born in the national territory and some had to pay to become Portuguese again”, he says.

“Ensuring effective control of the EU’s external borders” and “pursuing a comprehensive migration policy” are on the list of four priorities on the European Union’s strategic agenda, increasingly permeated by an anti-immigration discourse, especially by extreme parties. right. According to a recent survey by the European Council on Foreign Relations (CERE), two “crisis tribes” could influence the outcome of the next European elections: one votes with the climate crisis in mind and the other with immigration.

Portuguese MEPs in the European Parliament

Anabela Rodrigues is expected to join the group next week to continue defending the visibility of immigration and “create a debate” about domestic service, work that, she argues, is still very “linked to immigrant and racialized women”. In three months, when her mandate ends, she is thinking about a possible candidacy for the Europeans.

According to the recent report by the sociopolitical analysis platform EU Matrix, despite the small number of MEPs, Portugal is one of the smallest countries with the greatest political influence in Brussels.

The study, which analyzed the participation of MEPs during the current legislature (2019-2024), also says that the country is in third place, behind Luxembourg and Malta.

The German delegation is the most influential in Europe overall, but representatives from Portugal also played a decisive role in issues such as migration, finance, foreign affairs, agriculture and fisheries, energy, health and the internal market.

In addition, there are seven Portuguese MEPs in the top 100 of the most influential in the EU. They are Paulo Rangel (PSD) in 16th place, Pedro Silva Pereira (PS) in 19th, Pedro Marques and Isabel Santos (PS) in 35th and 36th place, Isabel Carvalhais (PS) in 64th place , Maria da Graça Carvalho (PSD) in 71st and Marisa Matias (BE) in 100th.