Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas refused to comment on the possibility of councillor Bruno Mascarenhas losing the support of André Ventura's party, which had named him as the lead candidate for the 2025 local elections. Moedas stated he has no coalition with Chega and never will. Questioned by RTP during a tsunami drill on Tuesday, March 24, the mayor noted he dismissed Mafalda Livermore—a former Chega member and alleged partner of Mascarenhas—from her role as administrator of the municipal social services once he learned of allegations regarding illegal housing rentals to immigrants and the unauthorised practice of law. Moedas maintained that the fallout from Livermore's dismissal and resignation from the party is a matter for Chega. In the 2025 local elections, the 'Por Ti, Lisboa' coalition (PSD-CDS-IL) won the most votes, securing Moedas a second term, though he only achieved a municipal majority after assigning portfolios to councillor Ana Simões Silva, who left Chega to become an independent following a dispute with Mascarenhas.
Carlos Moedas: "I have no coalition with Chega, nor will I ever have one"
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.
