Legal: Government policy news in Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal

Latest news and stories about government policy in legal in Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal for expats and residents.

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Chega proposes new rules for political party donations

📍 Lisbon 🏛️ Government ⚖️ Legal#chega+2 more

The political party Chega announced plans to submit a bill to the Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República) aimed at balancing transparency and privacy in party funding. Party leader André Ventura stated the proposal seeks to ensure high-value donors are disclosed by name while protecting sensitive personal data like tax identification numbers and home addresses.

André Ventura, born January 15, 1983, is a lawyer, academic, and Portugal's most prominent far-right leader. He founded Chega ("Enough") in 2019 after his PSD mayoral campaign attacked the Romani community. Chega surged from 1.3% in 2019 to 22.8% in May 2025, becoming parliament's second-largest party and making Ventura Leader of the Opposition.

His platform emphasizes immigration restrictions, law-and-order policies, constitutional reform, and contains inflammatory anti-Romani rhetoric that has triggered multiple discrimination convictions and investigations. Politically classified as far-right by international media, Ventura cultivates alliances with European far-right figures including Marine Le Pen and Santiago Abascal.

4 sources →27 Apr

Chega proposes new rules for political party donations

Rui Tavares accuses André Ventura of using Nazi rhetoric

📍 Lisbon 🏛️ Government ⚖️ Legal#chega+2 more

Livre spokesperson Rui Tavares has accused Chega leader André Ventura of invoking Nazi-era rhetoric during his speech at the 25th of April solemn session. Tavares claims that Ventura's repeated use of the phrase “stabbed in the back” mirrors a specific myth used by Adolf Hitler to undermine democratic institutions. The accusation has sparked further debate regarding the tone of political discourse in Portugal.

Leader: Rui Tavares
Ideology: Green left-wing politics, libertarian socialism

LIVRE (meaning "Free") is a green left-wing party founded in 2014 by historian and former MEP Rui Tavares. The party struggled for years before finally electing Tavares as its first MP in 2022, then grew to 4 seats in 2024 and 6 seats in 2025—making it the only progressive party to gain ground in recent elections. LIVRE focuses on environmental protection, human rights, and progressive social policies while maintaining a pro-European stance.

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.

Rui Tavares is a historian, writer, and politician who serves as a spokesperson for the political party Livre. He has been a member of the Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República) since 2022 and previously served as a member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2014.

4 sources →25 Apr

Seven officers held over alleged torture in Lisbon

📍 Lisbon ⚖️ Legal 🏛️ Government#public-safety+3 more

Seven police officers have been placed in preventive detention amid an investigation into alleged torture and other crimes at the Rato and Bairro Alto stations in Lisbon; reports say nine officers in total are now being held preventively. The Public Security Police announced the detentions, citing a risk of continued criminal activity, and the probe covers serious alleged offences committed while on duty. Lisbon residents and anyone who has used those stations in recent years should watch for prosecutor statements and potential requests to review past complaints.

Update: MAI defends force while apologising to victims

The Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI) published statements this weekend: Minister Luís Neves defended that the “overwhelming majority” of PSP (Polícia de Segurança Pública or PSP) officers serve with a strong sense of mission, while MAI also apologised to alleged victims as the Public Ministry (MP) and PSP stressed the preventive detention aims to avoid continued criminal activity and preserve evidence. The investigation remains under secrecy of justice and charges reported in coverage include torture, sexual offences and abuse of power.

Preventive detention (prisão preventiva) is a court-ordered measure that keeps a suspect in custody before trial when a judge decides there is a real risk they might flee, tamper with evidence, or pose a danger to others. It is temporary and not a conviction; in the recent case five of the 37 alleged members were ordered to await the investigation in preventive detention by the Central Criminal Investigation Court. Those detained should request a lawyer and can seek consular assistance if they are foreign nationals, while family or lawyers can ask the court to review or lift the measure.

The PSP (Polícia de Segurança Pública) is Portugal's national civilian police force, founded in 1867. Responsible for defending Republican democracy and safeguarding internal security and citizens' rights, the PSP polices major cities—Lisbon, Porto, Faro—and large urban areas, covering only 4% of Portugal's territory but roughly half the population. Led by a National Director under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, its approximately 21,500 officers handle preventive policing, crime investigation, public order, airport security, diplomatic protection, private security regulation, firearms licensing, and border control (since 2023).

PSP vs. GNR: The PSP is civilian with police-focused training and urban jurisdiction, while the GNR (Guarda Nacional Republicana) is military (gendarmerie) with military training, covering 96% of Portugal's rural and suburban territory. Both share core public safety missions but differ fundamentally in nature, training, and geographic responsibility.

4 sources →7 Mar

Seven officers held over alleged torture in Lisbon

Protests against the government's labour package mark Saturday

📍 Lisbon 🏛️ Government ⚖️ Legal#labour-law+3 more

Thousands of people demonstrated in Lisbon and Porto against changes to the labour law.

1 source →28 Feb

Protests against the government's labour package mark Saturday

Recent articles

PS denounces that Laplaine has been illegally occupying the position since 2024

🏛️ Government ⚖️ Legal#government-policy+3 more

The Socialist Party in Lisbon has accused Mayor Carlos Moedas of illegally retaining Alberto Laplaine Guimarães as municipal secretary-general, arguing that his tenure has exceeded the legal ten-year limit and that a new public tender was required.

Observador20 Mar

PS denounces that Laplaine has been illegally occupying the position since 2024

Government meets today with UGT and employers to resume labour law negotiations

💼 Work 🏛️ Government ⚖️ Legal 💶 Finance#government-policy+2 more

The Minister of Labour reconvenes with the UGT and business confederations to resume labour law reform negotiations following an appeal from the President of the Republic to resolve the recent impasse.

RTP Notícias16 Mar