Inês Sousa Real, spokesperson for the party People–Animals–Nature (PAN), requested an inquiry on Wednesday against Rita Matias, a deputy from the Chega party, citing “offensive remarks” made during a plenary session on September 19. The request was directed to José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, President of the Assembly of the Republic, and the Parliamentary Commission for Transparency and the Status of Deputies.
“During the plenary session on September 19, and following the exercise of my right to vote, the Chega party deputy, Rita Maria Cid Matias, in a violent tone, directed an ‘aside’ at me, stating ‘you’re disgusting, you’re disgusting,’ which I immediately reported to the panel,” stated Inês de Sousa Real in a communiqué sent to newsrooms on Wednesday.
The communiqué further highlighted that “the repeated insults can be verified in the recording of the plenary session of that day,” asserting that there is no “doubt about the insulting and derogatory nature of the adjective ‘disgusting’ and the attempt to hinder the free exercise of the right to vote by deputies,” as guaranteed in the Portuguese Constitution.
“It is important to highlight that the violations of the Constitution, the Rules of the Assembly of the Republic, the Deputies’ Statute, and the Code of Conduct for Deputies perpetrated by deputy Rita Matias, aiming to constrain my freedom to vote and offend my moral integrity, cannot be considered normal exercise of the right to freedom of expression or a verbal incident, but rather serious infractions of parliamentary mandate exercise,” added Sousa Real.
She also noted that this behavior by Rita Matias is “recurrent” and “violates the duty of urbanity and unconstitutional loyalty of the Code of Conduct of Deputies to the Assembly of the Republic.”
In light of the events, Inês Sousa Real “requested the President of the Assembly of the Republic to initiate an inquiry into the offenses committed, to ascertain severe breaches of norms and duties as outlined in the Constitution, the Rules of the Assembly of the Republic, the Deputies’ Statute, and the Deputies’ Code of Conduct, by deputy Rita Matias.”
The PAN leader also “requests that the President of the Assembly of the Republic applies the provisions of Article 13 of the Deputies’ Statute, demanding symbolic compensation as official recognition of the offense endured.”
“Should the inquiry conducted by the Parliamentary Commission for Transparency and the Status of Deputies determine that as a deputy I was subjected to an act that offended my moral integrity and restricted my freedom, I should be awarded a symbolic compensation of €0.01 (one cent), as official recognition of the offense and the necessity for institutional redress,” she stated.
Inês Sousa Real announces complaint against Chega deputies
The sole deputy of PAN, Inês de Sousa Real, announced on September 27 that she would file a complaint in the Assembly of the Republic regarding the conduct of Chega deputies Rita Matias and Rodrigo Taxa, accusing them of insults.
“In the complaint I, as a deputy, will present this Monday against Rita Matias and deputy Rodrigo Alves Taxa [both from Chega], I will request the application of Article 13, meaning that the President of the Assembly of the Republic [José Pedro Aguiar-Branco] imposes a symbolic fine of one cent on these deputies,” she told journalists in Vila Nova de Gaia.
The sole deputy of PAN, Inês de Sousa Real, announced today that she will present a complaint on Monday in the Assembly of the Republic concerning the conduct of Chega deputies Rita Matias and Rodrigo Taxa, whom she accuses of insults.
Lusa | 16:06 – 27/09/2025
