The Islamic Cultural Centre of Madeira (CCIM) has filed a complaint with the Assembly of the Republic against Chega MP Francisco Gomes, accusing him of a consistent pattern of hate speech, stigmatisation, and discrimination against the Muslim community. The CCIM argues that the MP is instrumentalising his parliamentary mandate to dehumanise the community and incite social hostility. The Religious Freedom Commission has issued an opinion stating that Gomes's statements unequivocally constitute crimes of discrimination and incitement to hatred. Additionally, the CCIM has initiated criminal and civil proceedings against the MP and other local Chega leaders, demanding the removal of inflammatory content from social media.
Madeira Islamic Centre files complaint against Chega MP for hate speech
Tuesday, 28 April 2026RSS
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.
