Sandra Pereira

Sandra Pereira
Member of the European Parliament
for Portugal
In office
2 July 2019 – 15 July 2024
Personal details
Born (1977-02-18) 18 February 1977
PartyPortuguese Communist Party
The Left – GUE/NGL
OccupationPolitician, linguist

Sandra Maria de Brito Pereira is a Portuguese Communist Party politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament between 2019 and 2024 on the Unitary Democratic Coalition list.[1]

Career

Pereira was elected as MEP in the 2019 European Parliament election. In the European Parliament, she was a member of the far-left political group The Left – GUE/NGL.

Political positions

During her tenure, she took political positions aligned with a consistently pro-Russia stance. Analyses of her voting record have identified her among the MEPs most aligned with Russian state interests, opposing all major resolutions critical of the Russian government.[2][3]

On 2 March 2022, she was one of 13 MEPs who voted against condemning the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and against designating Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism in the context of deliberate Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure.[2][4][5]

On 15 September 2022, Pereira was one of 16 MEPs who voted against condemning President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua for human rights violations, in particular the arrest of Bishop Rolando Álvarez.[6][7]

In 2023, she was one of 14 MEPs who voted against a resolution condemning the abduction of Tibetan children and other forced assimilation practices by China.[8]

Soviet legacy

In 2019, she voted against the resolution on the importance of European remembrance for the future of Europe, which condemned all totalitarian ideologies, including both Nazism and Stalinism.[9] Pereira justified her vote by denouncing the resolution as an anti-communist distortion of history.[10]

In 2024, she voted against a resolution recognizing the Holodomor as a genocide.[11] She argued that the resolution constituted a falsification of history and an attempt to defame the Soviet Union, rejecting the characterization of the massive man-made famine as a planned act of genocide.[12]

References

  1. ^ Personal profile of Sandra Pereira in the European Parliament's database of members
  2. ^ a b "Revealed: Russia's best friends in the EU Parliament". POLITICO. 6 June 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  3. ^ "Dois eurodeputados portugueses entre os "maiores amigos de Putin" no Parlamento Europeu". CNN Portugal (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  4. ^ "We asked 13 MEPs why they voted no to condemn Russia's war in Ukraine". euronews. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  5. ^ "Which EU politicians refused to label Russia a sponsor of terror?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  6. ^ "European Parliament condemns growing repression of Catholic Church in Nicaragua, calls for release of bishop".
  7. ^ "Nicaragua, in particular the arrest of the bishop Rolando Álvarez" (PDF).
  8. ^ "Vote results: The abduction of Tibetan children and forced assimilation practices through Chinese boarding schools in Tibet". HowTheyVote.eu. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  9. ^ "Vote results: The importance of European remembrance for the future of Europe". HowTheyVote.eu. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  10. ^ Português, Partido Comunista (15 January 2020). "Distorção da história Europeia". Partido Comunista Português (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  11. ^ "Vote results: 90 years after the Holodomor: recognising the mass killing through starvation as genocide". HowTheyVote.eu. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  12. ^ Português, Partido Comunista (20 December 2022). "90 anos após o Holodomor: Reconhecimento do assassínio em massa através da fome como genocídio". Partido Comunista Português (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 24 January 2026.