The Portuguese parliamentary group Chega abruptly left the plenary session after a heated altercation with Teresa Morais, the acting president of the parliament. The dispute arose during a debate on racism and violence against women, initiated by Chega, where leader André Ventura accused opposition deputies of ignoring crimes against foreigners and women. Teresa Morais responded by defending the integrity of female parliamentarians, which prompted Ventura to criticize her and the opposition. The confrontation escalated when Filipe Melo of Chega was reprimanded for leaving his seat during the exchange, leading to the entire Chega bench walking out and the session ending prematurely. The incident was widely condemned, with the opposition praising Morais and criticizing Chega's behavior.
OUTRA MARGEM: Chega abandona plenário depois de nova altercação com Teresa Morais
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.
