A report by the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG) concludes that the current 2018 law on gender identity is more aligned with international human rights standards than the 2011 legislation that right-wing parties (PSD, Chega, and CDS/PP) seek to reinstate. The CIG warns that reversing the current model of self-determination would be a significant setback, potentially unconstitutional, and could make Portugal the first European state to backtrack on these rights. The government, which initially withheld the report, only released it to Parliament after pressure from opposition parties and media inquiries, with Minister Margarida Balseiro Lopes denying any lack of transparency.
Gender identity: Government-suppressed report rejects right-wing legislative proposals
Tuesday, 14 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.
