Sandra Pereira

For the Social Democratic Party (PSD) politician, see Sandra Pereira (politician, born 1974).

Sandra Pereira MEP
Member of the European Parliament for Portugal
In office 2 July 2019 –15 July 2024
Personal details
Born	(1977-02-18) 18 February 1977 (age 48)
Party	Portuguese Communist Party The Left – GUE/NGL
Occupation	Politician, linguist

Sandra 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. "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.