Pacheco Pereira and André Ventura engaged in a contentious debate over historical interpretations of the 25th of April, with the historian challenging the Chega leader's claims regarding political prisoners and the legacy of the dictatorship.
Pacheco Pereira and Ventura disagreed on everything in a debate marked by interruptions

Context & Explainers

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.
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- Pacheco Pereira and Ventura disagreed on everything in a debate marked by interruptions • publico.pt
Other news coverage of this topic
- Who won the debate between André Ventura and Pacheco Pereira? • Público
- Pacheco Pereira threw history into the mix, while Ventura insisted on comparisons during a debate on 'blinders' • Expresso
- Pacheco Pereira vs. André Ventura: the key moments of a historic debate • CNN Portugal
- The Pacheco Pereira vs Ventura debate on prisoners and dictatorship • Observador
- What if Spain invaded Portugal? "I would fight for my country," guarantees Ventura • CNN Portugal
- "We had a miserable revolution" - says Ventura about the 25th of April • CNN Portugal
- Has democracy harmed this country? • Dinheiro Vivo
- Pacheco Pereira brought a wooden paddle to the debate with André Ventura • CNN Portugal
- Pacheco Pereira explains his idea of patriotism: "Whoever fought against the dictatorship before the 25th of April fought for Portugal" • CNN Portugal
- Don't tell me that everyone who was imprisoned in the colonies were political prisoners • CNN Portugal
- This 'miserable' revolution gave Portugal its freedom • CNN Portugal
- The full debate between Pacheco Pereira and André Ventura • CNN Portugal
- It is André Ventura who is using a technique similar to the communists • CNN Portugal
- "That is how a patriot speaks, not with whining," argues Ventura • CNN Portugal
- You will not find in the entire history of the Estado Novo an order from the Prime Minister to arrest anyone • CNN Portugal
- Do you know where there is treason against the country? It is in the cruelty of Chega • CNN Portugal
- "Do not talk to me about Humberto Delgado!", Ventura demands. But Pacheco Pereira does talk about Humberto Delgado - and his mother-in-law murdered in cold blood • CNN Portugal
- Pacheco Pereira and André Ventura bring the same report to the debate • CNN Portugal
- Speaking the way André Ventura speaks is justifying dictatorship • CNN Portugal
- Some comparisons are lies in themselves: talking about what happened in 74/75/76 versus the 48 years prior • CNN Portugal
- Do you know what 48 years of systematic torture, humiliation, violence, and censorship are? • CNN Portugal








