The Lisboeta

António Filipe urges vote for Seguro to defeat Ventura's 'reactionary aims'

Sunday, 18 January 2026RSS
António Filipe urges vote for Seguro to defeat Ventura's 'reactionary aims'

The candidate backed by the PCP said he had no regrets about his candidacy.

View full article on Correio da Manhã

RSS source

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.

The PCP is the Portuguese Communist Party (Partido Comunista Português), a historic left-wing party founded in 1921. It remains influential in some trade unions and local councils, usually wins single-digit percentages in national elections, and often runs as part of the CDU coalition with the Greens. Voters and those tracking coalition-building should note the PCP’s capacity to mobilise grassroots support and influence left-wing alliances.