Chega (political party)
Chega (officially stylised as CHEGA!; English: "Enough!") is a Portuguese political party formed in 2019 by André Ventura. The party has been described as nationalist and populist.[12][9][10] In the 2019 Portuguese legislative election it won one seat in Parliament of Portugal.
CHEGA | |
---|---|
Leader | André Ventura |
Founded | 9 April 2019 |
Split from | Social Democratic Party |
Headquarters | Lisbon |
Membership (2020) | 15,000[1] |
Ideology | Portuguese nationalism[2] National conservatism[3] Economic liberalism[4] Social conservatism[5] Right-wing populism[6] Anti-immigration Euroscepticism[7] |
Political position | Right-wing[8] to far-right[9][10] |
European affiliation | Identity and Democracy Party[11] |
Colours | Dark blue |
Assembly of the Republic | 1 / 230
|
European Parliament | 0 / 21
|
Website | |
partidochega | |
Its inclusion in the register of Portuguese political parties was accepted by the Constitutional Court on 9 April 2019.[13] On 12 April 2019, it announced that the head of its list to the European Parliament is André Ventura. Chega was part of the Basta! coalition for the 2019 European Parliament election in Portugal.
Ideology
Chega considers itself a party with nationalist, conservative and personalist roots.[14] It defends the promotion of an effective justice and the decrease of the State's intervention in economy. The party also presents itself as national conservative and social conservative.[15]
The party wants a decrease of the tax incidence, considering the current tributary system to be "brutal and aggressive to the ones who work and build wealth", and that "takes away half of their salary". It also defends shrinking the bureaucracy, considering it to be one of the main reasons for the "Portuguese competitive economic backwardness".[14]
Election results
National legislative elections
Date | Head of list | Cl. | Votes | % | +/- | Seats | +/- |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | André Ventura | 7th | 67,826 | 1.29 | New | 1 / 230 |
New |
European elections
Date | Head of list | Cl. | Votes | % | +/- | Seats | +/- |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Basta! | 0 |
Controversies
Chega has been criticised for promoting to high ranking positions individuals with ties to organisations with neo-nazi and far-right ideals.[16] Before this was investigated, the head of list, André Ventura, promised to have "zero tolerance" with militants connected with extremist or racist movements.[17] Despite this, the party leader organised a march during the coronavirus outbreak, in 2020, which received huge backup and support from the portuguese neo-nazi Mário Machado.[18]
Several members of the party also have admitted to have belonged to neo-nazi groups. [19]
References
- "André Ventura's interview in RTP Açores". CHEGA TV.
(...) in terms of members, our number should pass the 15 000 mark already in the whole country (...)
- "Portugal election result cements modest gains for Europe's centre-left". The Guardian. 7 October 2019.
- "Socialist Antonio Costa wins Portugal election, will continue 'contraption' coalition". Euronews. 7 October 2019.
- "Portugal ya no es la excepción: la ultraderecha entra en el Parlamento". La Razón. 7 October 2019.
- "Press Conference by Chega (Enough) Party Member of Portuguese Parliament André Ventura on 2020 State budget". Getty Images. 8 January 2020.
- "Portugal's Socialists win election, now eye alliances". Star Tribune. 7 October 2019.
- "The instinctive multilateralist: Portugal and the politics of cooperation". European Council on Foreign Relations. 2 October 2019.
- "Livre makes history in Portugal: not just first black woman MP, but first man in a skirt". The Portugal Resident. 28 October 2019.
- Almeida, São José (26 January 2019). "Chega um partido populista de extrema-direita a Portugal" [A far-right populist party has arrived in Portugal]. Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- "'Politico' highlights poor adhesion of Portugal to the populist movement". Jornal Expresso (in Portuguese). Retrieved 29 May 2019.
News article on the campaign for Europeans Elections refers to the meager chance that the coalition "Basta!" to elect a MEP and advances the reasons for the country to resist the wave of far-right that reached the rest of Europe.
- https://www.sabado.pt/portugal/detalhe/chega-junta-se-ao-partido-europeu-de-le-pen-e-salvini
- Carvalho, Bruno Amaral de (12 April 2019). "A extrema-direita chega a Portugal?" [Has the far-right arrived in Portugal?]. Contacto (in Portuguese).
- "TC > Partidos Políticos > Partidos registados e suas denominações, siglas e símbolos". www.tribunalconstitucional.pt.
- "Manifesto". Partido Político CHEGA (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 May 2019.
- Rainho, Vítor; Martinho, Beatriz. "André Ventura: 'Sou contra o aborto mas nunca condenaria uma mulher que aborta'". Jornal SOL. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
- "André Ventura "promove nazis a dirigentes do Chega"? (COM VÍDEO)". poligrafo.sapo.pt/ (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- "Chega promete "tolerância zero" para militantes ligados a movimentos extremistas ou racistas". observador.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- https://poligrafo.sapo.pt/fact-check/mario-machado-promete-a-neo-nazis-que-aderiram-ao-chega-que-nunca-revelara-que-foram-seus-camaradas. Missing or empty
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External links
- Official website (in Portuguese)