On the last day of the campaign in Lisbon, Gouveia e Melo said he was the best antidote to extremism and the candidate best prepared for the current international context. The admiral warned of the risk of an André Ventura victory, emphasising that Iniciativa Liberal has already shown openness to Chega and that the PSD potentially allowing a free vote could put democracy at risk. The final appeal was made at the Benfica Market.
This Iranian woman told Gouveia e Melo that the Portuguese "know what a dictator is". Afterwards there was a hug
Friday, 16 January 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.
