Chega activist sacked after illegal housing report
After an RTP investigation found that several properties were being used as clandestine housing rented to migrants, Mafalda Guerra — appointed in December 2025 as a board member (vogal) of the Social Services of the Lisbon City Council (Serviços Sociais da Câmara de Lisboa) — was exonerated. The report says rents were reportedly paid through an associate; Guerra told RTP some properties were leased to third parties who managed them. The dismissal follows public scrutiny of informal housing arrangements and will draw attention from anyone using or dealing with municipal social services in Lisbon.
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.
Mafalda Guerra was appointed in December 2025 as a board member (vogal) of the Social Services of Lisbon City Council (Serviços Sociais da Câmara de Lisboa) and was dismissed on Friday following an RTP investigation by the programme A Prova dos Factos. The case matters locally because it affects oversight of municipal social services and public confidence in political appointments.
