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From Seguro's "we are all democrats" to Ventura's "socialism corrupts" — the notable remarks from election night

Monday, 19 January 2026RSS
🏛️ Government#chega#election-campaign#government-policy#presidential-election
From Seguro's "we are all democrats" to Ventura's "socialism corrupts" — the notable remarks from election night

The next President of the Republic will be chosen in a run-off in which André Ventura will face António José Seguro, but this Sunday's election night featured striking interventions from the various figures involved. In the first stage of the race to Belém, the candidates backed by Chega and by the PS stood out, and their ...

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Context & Explainers

What is Chega?

Chega ("Enough") is a Portuguese far-right populist party founded in 2019 by André Ventura. It positions itself as an anti-establishment movement against what it calls a "rotten and corrupt system" of PS-PSD dominance. The party surged from 1.3% in 2019 to 22.8% in May 2025, becoming parliament's second-largest force with 60 seats. ​ Chega's core platform emphasizes strict immigration control—ending automatic CPLP residency, deporting non-independent immigrants, implementing job-market quotas, and requiring five-year social security contributions before benefit access. It advocates radical constitutional reform, including reducing parliament to 100 members, abolishing the prime minister position for a presidential system, and dismantling public healthcare. Law-and-order policies include life imprisonment and chemical castration proposals.

The party is defined by inflammatory anti-Romani rhetoric, with Ventura convicted multiple times for discrimination. Chega maintains international alignments with European far-right figures including Marine Le Pen, Santiago Abascal, and Matteo Salvini. Mainstream Portuguese parties, including Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's government, have imposed a cordon sanitaire, refusing coalition with Chega despite its parliamentary strength.