Miguel Sousa Tavares and Ricardo Costa were the protagonists of an extra episode of the podcasts 'De Viva Voz' and 'Esta Semana', which took place at the Expresso Podcasts Festival. The new world order (or is it disorder? one of the speakers asked), and the role of Europe and Portugal were debated. The conversation also touched on the presidential race: Ventura or Seguro — what should we expect from domestic politics going forward?
Miguel Sousa Tavares: 'Trump thinks he's a kind of casino gambler. It's a remarkable case of dementia. I'd like to ask him: What is the ultimate goal?'
Monday, 2 February 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.
