During the presentation of the party’s municipal candidates in the Santarém district, Ventura stated that “since 2023, there has been a disinvestment of more than 60 million euros in fire prevention efforts,” emphasizing that this trend started with António Costa’s government and continued with Luís Montenegro’s administration.
The leader of Chega advocated for an urgent meeting with the government to discuss fire response strategies and reiterated the party’s proposal to strengthen criminal legislation regarding arson.
“It’s urgent that we pass legislation ensuring that arsonists are imprisoned and not free on days with high temperatures and when the territory is extremely vulnerable,” he stated.
Ventura also called for the “conscience of the courts” to ensure that arson suspects are not released, referring to a recent case of a young man detained by the Judiciary Police for allegedly causing fires between Fafe and Guimarães.
“We cannot have madmen on the loose with 40-degree heat while the country is burning,” he declared.
Ventura assured that Chega is ready to approve “on the first day of parliament or in an emergency meeting” a law allowing for the preemptive imprisonment of arsonists, even if it means, as he put it, “keeping them locked up until it starts raining.”
On national politics, Ventura downplayed the meeting between the prime minister and the PS secretary-general, José Luís Carneiro, stating that Chega only meets with the government “when there are important issues to resolve.”
The Chega leader highlighted prior agreements on issues such as IRS, immigration, and nationality, noting new discussions are scheduled for September on budgetary and labor topics.
“The PS and the PSD can meet as often as they like, which doesn’t bother us. When Chega has meetings with the government, it’s because there are important issues we want to resolve. Other discussions are scheduled for September on important matters, whether budgetary in nature or regarding legislation, like labor issues,” he said.
When asked about the presidential elections, Ventura stated that “they are not the priority for the Portuguese at this time,” asserting that the focus should be on the October municipal elections.
“We are in Santarém, where we received more than 28% of the votes. We want to win, not just for the sake of winning, but because the country’s problems justify our commitment,” he said.
The president of Chega expressed confidence in achieving a “great result” in the district, stating that the party is investing in all municipalities and that Santarém has become “a great symbol” of Chega.
