Ecologist Party "The Greens"

The Party was founded 1982, originally named the Portuguese Ecologist Movement – Party "The Greens" (Movimento Ecologista Português – Partido "Os Verdes"), by a group of Portuguese citizens interested in the promotion of the ecologist movement in Portuguese society, with the support of the Portuguese Communist Party, including in its founders one of its members, Zita Seabra.

In the end of the 1970s, Earth was facing new ecological problems, such as the greenhouse effect and the depletion of the ozone layer and the lack of awareness of this in Portuguese society, along with the lack of an organized Ecologist movement, led to the foundation of the Ecologist Party "The Greens" in order to put such problems on the political agenda.

The Party created regional groups immediately following its foundation, groups that have continued to grow since then. The growth of the Party throughout the country allowed many members to integrate the electoral lists of the CDU, some being elected to very different tasks. Currently (as of 2022), The PEV has several members elected in Municipal Chambers, in Municipal Assemblies and in Parish Assemblies, but it has no members elected in the Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese parliament). There is some criticism of its close ties to the Communist Party. Given that PEV never stood in elections on its own, some right-wing politicians have gone to the point of nicknaming PEV "The Watermelons – Greens Outside, Reds Inside". However, the official positions of both parties on certain questions can be quite different, of which the stance regarding bullfighting is an example.[8]

The PEV is also present in the National Electoral Commission and also in the National Council of Education. The youth wing of the Party is the Ecolojovem, founded in 1989, which is a founding member of the Federation of Young European Greens.[9]

The PEV edits a newspaper, the Folha Verde (Green Leaf), which received several press prizes for its unique design and style.

The PEV supported the minority Socialist Costa Government (2015–2019) with a confidence and supply agreement.

In the 2022 legislative elections, the PEV lost its remaining parliamentary representation.[6]

CDU results in the local election of 2005. (Azores and Madeira are not shown)

In elections, the PEV is closely allied with the Portuguese Communist Party, first in the Unitary Democratic Coalition. This explains a nickname given to Os Verdes by some: "melancias" (lit. watermelons): green outside and red inside. The "green" here is a reference to the self-proclaimed ecologist nature of the party, while "red" means "communist".

European Parliament

These are the results for Unitary Democratic Coalition.[12]

Election year	# of overall votes	% of overall vote	# of overall seats won	+/-	Notes
1987	646,640	11.5 (#4)	3 / 24
1989	594,961	14.4 (#3)	4 / 24	1
1994	339,283	11.2 (#4)	3 / 25	1
1999	357,575	10.3 (#3)	2 / 25	1
2004	309,406	9.1 (#3)	2 / 24	0
2009	379,787	10.6 (#4)	2 / 22	0
2014	416,377	12.7 (#3)	3 / 21	1
2019	228,156	6.88 (#4)	2 / 21	1

Note:

• In 2004, after the enlargement of the European Union, the number of MEPs elected by Portugal decreased from the original 25 to 24, and in 2009 it further decreased to 22.

• Green party
• Green politics
• Politics of Portugal
• List of environmental organizations
• List of political parties in Portugal
• Unitary Democratic Coalition

• Official web site (in Portuguese)
• Info on EFGP site (in English)
• PEV website in the Lisbon Municipal Assembly (in Portuguese)