Folha Nacional, Chega and RTP: the dangerous triangle of disinformation

Wednesday, 22 April 2026RSS
Folha Nacional, Chega and RTP: the dangerous triangle of disinformation

The RTP Opinion Council is an essential structure to ensure that the public radio and television service is not subservient to political power. For this very reason, Article 21 of its Statutes is explicit: the members of this Council “are independent in the exercise of their functions” both regarding RTP structures and the parties that appoint them. Therefore, being a member of parliament and, at the same time, part of an RTP oversight body is a glaring contradiction.

Context & Explainers

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.

View full article on expresso.pt

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