During a day dedicated to Aveiro, a public rally featuring André Ventura and the district’s top candidate, Pedro Frazão, began late in the morning near the train station.
As the roughly one-kilometer journey proceeded towards the ria, a small group of Roma people expressed their dissatisfaction with the Chega party.
“Racist. We work, we have as many rights as you, we pay taxes,” they shouted, emphasizing their status as Portuguese citizens.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Belarmina Fernandes explained to journalists that she and her “friends” were nearby when the Chega caravan passed, and their demonstration was spontaneous.
“We encourage our children to study, to work. I work, everyone here gets training, they study to achieve better things,” she said, urging an end to “the hatred fueled by André Ventura.”
“Chega cannot take over our country; if that happens, it’s a total disaster,” she contended.
Stating that they have felt “more reprisals” since Chega’s emergence, Belarmina Fernandes warned that future generations “will experience worse times.”
Belarmina also noted that “there are mistakes within the Roma community, just as there are outside of it” and stressed that “enough of racism and enough of fostering so much hatred.”
She added that “a Chega supporter” said the group had “the right to be in Romania, not in Portugal,” and indicated plans to file a complaint.
“It’s not racism; it’s about everyone having to work like everyone else does. It’s about working and following the same rules as everyone else,” remarked André Ventura upon hearing the protests, without approaching the group.
Confronted by journalists, the Chega leader claimed such criticisms are unfounded, describing it as “the usual victimization that the Roma community uses to attack [the party] without reason.”
“I believe that the Roma ethnicity in Portugal must comply with all the rules that others follow. Some work, but a large majority do not work, they have women marrying at 13, living in a state of disaggregation from the general community’s norms. It’s not me who’s fascist; it’s them who want separate rules in Portugal, and I cannot accept that,” he responded.
This rally was one of the least attended since the official campaign started and faced the most opposition. As the entourage advanced, marked by the party’s flags and chants of support, the few people they encountered offered well-wishes and words of encouragement, but there were also shouts of “fascist” or “racist” from a distance.
One such person was Arlete Santiago. Although Angolan, she has family in Portugal and spends considerable time in the country. She described Ventura’s words as “shocking” and noted that even those not living in Portugal “feel offended.”
“Every time Chega grows, the rhetoric worsens. He only spews horrors,” she added, contrasting that “many immigrants contribute positively to the country.”
