The leader of Chega said presidential candidates “should take a stance” on the issue and challenged his rival, António José Seguro, to do so.
Ventura wants to prevent EU–Mercosur trade agreement from coming into force
Monday, 26 January 2026RSS
Context & Explainers
Mercosur (Mercado Comum do Sul) is South America's largest trade bloc, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay as full members. It has been negotiating a landmark free trade agreement with the European Union for over two decades.
The EU-Mercosur deal matters for Portugal because of the country's deep historical, cultural, and economic ties with Brazil — Portugal's largest non-EU trading partner and home to the biggest Portuguese diaspora community. A deal would reduce tariffs on European exports (including Portuguese wine, olive oil, and textiles) while opening EU markets to South American agricultural products (beef, soy, sugar, ethanol).
Portuguese farmers, particularly in the beef and dairy sectors, have expressed concern about competition from lower-cost South American producers. Environmental groups have criticized the deal over deforestation risks in the Amazon. The agreement requires ratification by all EU member states and the European Parliament, making its passage politically complex.
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.
