Chega (political party)

Chega considers itself a party with nationalist,[13] conservative and personalist roots.[14] It defends the promotion of an effective judicial system and the decrease of the State's intervention in the economy. The party also presents itself as national conservative and social conservative.[15]

The agenda of CHEGA party is heavily focused on criminality issues, support for the police forces of the country, and the misuse of taxpayers' money in terms of corruption at the top, overstaffing in the civil service at the middle and undeserving welfare recipients at the bottom.[16][17]

The party advocates for a decrease of the tax incidence, considering the current tributary system to be "brutal and aggressive to the ones who work and build wealth, taking away half of their incomes". It additionally defends a reduction of both bureaucracy and the number of bureaucrats, asserting that it is one of the main reasons for the "Portuguese competitive economic backwardness".[14]

The party supports life imprisonment and chemical castration.[18] Some members also support the death penalty for crimes such as terrorism or child abuse; in a 2020 party referendum, 44% voted in favor.[19][20]

Describing itself a strong proponent of Western civilization, the party positions itself against Islamist extremism and proposes stronger border controls and a decrease of "mass and illegal immigration".[14] It has been also described as antiziganist.[21][22][23] The party supports integration measures for immigrants and states that all immigrants and foreign residents should be "obliged to respect our rules, rites, customs and traditions." It also supports bilateral agreements and immigration from former Portuguese colonies such as Brazil, Portuguese-speaking African countries, Macau and East Timor while taking a more critical stance on non-Western immigration. It also calls for a zero tolerance policy on illegal immigration and for the deportation of immigrants with criminal records or those who are economically inactive.[24] It is also opposed to multiculturalism and the practice of sharia law within the Portuguese legal system, but also claims to reject xenophobia on its platform.[25]

Chega's stance on the European Union has been described as Eurosceptic.[26] The party states that it supports the original "four freedoms" principle of free movement of goods, capital, services and people among member states, but argues for a "Europe of sovereign nations united by shared Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian principles" and opposes interference into national political decision making within member states by the EU. It also calls on Portugal to pursue more independent foreign and economic policies from Brussels and rejects compulsory EU migrant and refugee quotas. Furthermore, the party also argues that Portugal should exit the EU if it tries to become a federal state.[24]

The 2020 Chega leadership election was held on 6 September 2020. André Ventura was re-elected with more than 99% of the vote, facing no opposition.[27][28] The party’s statutes have been rejected by the Constitutional Court several times for concentrating excessive power in the hands of Ventura.[29]

In 2020, the press notes the "guerrilla atmosphere" prevailing within the party, the result of tensions between the different factions that make up the party.[30]

Due to its anti-establishment, anti-immigration, anti-Islam and populist stances,[31] Chega has been the target of numerous critics who underline the party's extreme views on various subjects, some of which include the negative comments regarding immigration and minorities, namely the Romani community,[32][33] its opposition to certain aspects of the constitution,[34][35] its criticism of the judicial leniency regarding serious crimes,[36][37] and governmental over-expenditure with public services.[38]

In response to some of the mainstream criticism, the party's president, André Ventura, denounced the accusations of racism, claiming that Chega defends equal rights and duties, and that it "doesn't desire a country on which minorities can believe they have more rights than others simply for being minorities".[39] On 27 June 2020, the party organized a protest entitled "Portugal is not racist", where Ventura further mentioned that there is no structural racism in Portugal, and that the political left uses racism as a pretext to foment political agendas.[40]

The party has also been targeted with critics for reusing a slightly modified version of the motto of the Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar "Deus, Pátria, Família" (God, Fatherland, Family).[41][42] The party has been criticized for having supporters of Salazar within their ranks.[43][44]

The Global Project against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE), an American NGO specialising in the study of extremist movements, warned in a 2023 report that Chega is an "anti-immigrant, anti-women, anti-LGBT, anti-Roma, anti-Muslim and conspiratorial party". The organisation also highlights the presence of numerous white supremacists, identitarians and neo-Nazis in the party's ranks.[29] [45] A subsequent investigatory article by GPAHE found evidence of "more extreme" members in the Chega Youth group, including "white supremacists, fans of former dictator Antonio Salazar, and fascist sympathizers" including the President of the Coimbra branch João Antunes, the leader of the Porto branch Francisco Araujo, and Vila Nova de Famalicão leader Joana Pinto Azevedo.[46]

• Assembly of the Republic
• List of political parties in Portugal
• Politics of Portugal

• Official website (in Portuguese)