Political Shift in Portugal: Ventura Advances in Presidential Race
On Sunday, a significant political moment unfolded in Portugal as Andre Ventura, the leader of the populist Chega party, advanced in the presidential election. This comes less than seven years after he launched his anti-mass immigration party, positioning him to potentially disrupt the political landscape.
In the first round, Ventura garnered over 1.3 million votes, marking a notable increase—with more than 800,000 additional votes compared to the previous election cycle in 2021. He achieved 23.5% of the total votes, up from 11.9% five years earlier.
Following this result, Ventura claimed he represents a new right-wing leadership in Portugal. He outperformed center-right candidate Luis Marques Méndez, who received only 11.3%, resulting in his elimination.
The presidential election is set for February 8, pitting Ventura against Socialist candidate Antonio José Seguro, who received 1.7 million votes, equivalent to 31.1%.
Ventura’s strong showing bolsters the momentum he gained last year when Chega became the second-largest party in Portugal’s parliament.
His campaign style has been described as politically incorrect, featuring slogans like “This is not Bangladesh” and “Gypsies must obey the law.” Chega has made immigration a central issue, proposing strict reforms to current liberal policies.
Ventura has pledged to deport all illegal immigrants and even to remove legal immigrants who fail to demonstrate self-sufficiency within a year of their arrival. Moreover, Chega intends to deny immigrants access to state benefits unless they have contributed to the system for at least five years.
To further regulate legal immigration, the party proposes an annual quota system aimed at attracting foreigners with skills that meet the demands of the Portuguese job market.
Additionally, they plan to enhance transparency around immigration, releasing annual reports that detail the number of foreigners in Portugal, their employment situations, and their contributions to society. This aims to provide the public with a clearer view of the migration landscape.
Ventura’s rise has attracted attention from populist leaders across Europe. In Spain, Santiago Abascal of the VOX party praised Ventura’s achievements as a historic chance to shift away from a one-party system that has resulted in poverty and insecurity for the country. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also congratulated Ventura, indicating a growing nationalist sentiment across Europe.
