The Lisboeta

Ventura leaves it to Montenegro's conscience whether to support him in a second round against Seguro

Saturday, 10 January 2026RSS
Ventura leaves it to Montenegro's conscience whether to support him in a second round against Seguro

The candidate said it would 'be interesting' to know what the prime minister and leader of the PSD would do in that scenario.

View full article on Correio da Manhã

RSS source

Context & Explainers

André Ventura

André Ventura, born January 15, 1983, is a lawyer, academic, and Portugal's most prominent far-right leader. He founded Chega ("Enough") in 2019 after his PSD mayoral campaign attacked the Romani community. Chega surged from 1.3% in 2019 to 22.8% in May 2025, becoming parliament's second-largest party and making Ventura Leader of the Opposition.

His platform emphasizes immigration restrictions, law-and-order policies, constitutional reform, and contains inflammatory anti-Romani rhetoric that has triggered multiple discrimination convictions and investigations. Politically classified as far-right by international media, Ventura cultivates alliances with European far-right figures including Marine Le Pen and Santiago Abascal.

He announced his 2026 presidential candidacy, polling at 18% alongside independent Admiral Gouveia e Melo. His rise ended Portugal's 50-year resistance to far-right parties.