Chega leader André Ventura announced that his party will demand full disclosure of the agreement made by the Bank of Portugal regarding Mário Centeno's 'multimillion-euro pension'. He accused the current governor, Álvaro Santos Pereira, of proposing the departure of his predecessor—who now serves as a consultant to the institution—solely because he was being overshadowed. Ventura questioned the necessity of the pension for the 59-year-old former Finance Minister and criticised the use of the Bank of Portugal's pension fund, labelling it an 'absolute immorality'. Additionally, Ventura blamed the Socialist Party (PS) for the deadlock in electing members to external parliamentary bodies, while praising the PSD's leadership for their cooperation.
Ventura accuses Santos Pereira of granting a 'multimillion-euro pension' to Mário Centeno 'to avoid being overshadowed'
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.
