André Ventura, speaking in Coimbra, stated, “Unlike my opponents, I say what I think and I know not everyone will agree with me. But I believe a President of the Republic should do everything in their power to avoid sending young Portuguese into the war in Ukraine.”
Addressing supporters and members of Chega during the presentation of his foreign policy manifesto, Ventura challenged other presidential candidates to clearly define their stance on the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and the potential deployment of Portuguese troops.
“This [not sending troops] does not mean we are not in solidarity or standing alongside the suffering of the Ukrainian people. We are, we have helped, and we will continue to help,” he emphasized.
Ventura argued that Portugal “should and can help” Ukraine with technology, medical and social support services, planning, and human resources, as it has done in other military conflicts.
“With our demographic problems, the shortage of young people, and with more than 30% emigrated abroad, Portugal cannot afford to send its young people to a war in Eastern Europe whose outcome is unknown […]. It could mean sending many of our sons, brothers, nephews, or relatives to their deaths,” he stressed.
He expressed that the country “has already suffered greatly from wars” and from sending young people to war zones.
“We must give our young people a future and not the future of sending them to the battlefield. We must say this clearly to the world and during this electoral campaign,” he summed up.
The Chega-backed candidate recalled that Portugal has been, and under his leadership will continue to be, “unconditionally alongside an attacked and assaulted Ukraine.”
“This has been our position from the start, and this is how we must position ourselves. Russia is a tyranny, a dictatorship, and we must stop it,” he argued.
In his foreign policy manifesto, the party leader expressed his intentions to present a commitment to “a different Presidency of the Republic.”
“A country that respects Portuguese communities abroad but never bows its head to the name of Portugal,” he emphasized, alleging that Portuguese emigrants abroad have practically been “denied the right to vote” due to the absence of mail-in voting in presidential elections, forcing them to vote at a consulate or embassy.
“And the reason is clear: why doesn’t the system want them to vote? Because they know well that those who left the country are unlikely to vote for PS or PSD,” he accused.
Ventura also advocated for a strategy to encourage emigrants to return to Portugal.
Speaking further on Portuguese-speaking African countries, he reiterated his belief that a President of the Republic can hold office without always making concessions, paying, or apologizing.
“I said this once and I will say it again without creating any drama: I will never accept that Portugal pays a cent to former Portuguese provinces […]. It is a bad principle when a country starts paying for its history and for what it did 500 years, 400 years, or 300 years ago,” he stressed.
[Updated at 20:32]
