Chega (political party)

Chega (English translation: "Enough") is a Portuguese political party formed in 2019 by Andre 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

Chega
LeaderAndré Ventura
Founded9 April 2019
Split fromSocial Democratic Party
HeadquartersLisbon
Membership (2020)15,000[1]
IdeologyPortuguese nationalism[2]
National conservatism[3]
Economic liberalism[4]
Social conservatism[5]
Right-wing populism[6]
Anti-immigration
Euroscepticism[7]
Political positionRight-wing[8] to far-right[9][10]
European affiliationIdentity and Democracy Party (entering)[11]
Colours     Dark blue
Assembly of the Republic
1 / 230
European Parliament (Portuguese seats)
0 / 21
Website
partidochega.pt

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.

On 5 April 2020, André Ventura resigned from the leadership of CHEGA, claiming that the internal opposition was boycotting his decisions in the party. He'll seek a new mandate for the president of the party in the September elections.[14]

Ideology

Chega considers itself a party with nationalist, conservative and personalist roots.[15] 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.[16]

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".[15]

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.[17] Before this was investigated, the head of list, André Ventura, promised to have "zero tolerance" with militants connected with extremist or racist movements.[18]

References
  1. "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 (...)
  2. "Portugal election result cements modest gains for Europe's centre-left". The Guardian. 7 October 2019.
  3. "Socialist Antonio Costa wins Portugal election, will continue 'contraption' coalition". Euronews. 7 October 2019.
  4. "Portugal ya no es la excepción: la ultraderecha entra en el Parlamento". La Razón. 7 October 2019.
  5. "Press Conference by Chega (Enough) Party Member of Portuguese Parliament André Ventura on 2020 State budget". Getty Images. 8 January 2020.
  6. "Portugal's Socialists win election, now eye alliances". Star Tribune. 7 October 2019.
  7. "The instinctive multilateralist: Portugal and the politics of cooperation". European Council on Foreign Relations. 2 October 2019.
  8. "Livre makes history in Portugal: not just first black woman MP, but first man in a skirt". The Portugal Resident. 28 October 2019.
  9. 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.
  10. "'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.
  11. https://24.sapo.pt/amp/atualidade/artigos/chega-andre-ventura-faz-contactos-junto-da-familia-de-bolsonaro-e-prepara-se-para-trabalhar-com-o-grupo-de-salvini
  12. Carvalho, Bruno Amaral de (12 April 2019). "A extrema-direita chega a Portugal?" [Has the far-right arrived in Portugal?]. Contacto (in Portuguese).
  13. "TC > Partidos Políticos > Partidos registados e suas denominações, siglas e símbolos". www.tribunalconstitucional.pt.
  14. Barbosa, Maria. "André Ventura apresenta demissão da liderança do Chega e convoca eleições em setembro para "clarificar"". Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  15. "Manifesto". Partido Político CHEGA (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  16. Rainho, Vítor; Martinho, Beatriz. "André Ventura: 'Sou contra o aborto mas nunca condenaria uma mulher que aborta'". Jornal SOL. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  17. "André Ventura "promove nazis a dirigentes do Chega"? (COM VÍDEO)". poligrafo.sapo.pt/ (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  18. "Chega promete "tolerância zero" para militantes ligados a movimentos extremistas ou racistas". observador.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 January 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.