“Andrezito. Andrezito. Oh, Andrezito. Acorda, monstro! Acorda!” begins the latest video from Isaltino Morais, the mayor of Oeiras, who has issued stern criticisms against André Ventura.
The mayor of Oeiras decided to express his opinion regarding an interview André Ventura gave to CNN Portugal last week, during which the leader of Chega repeatedly threatened to leave the studio and eventually did so.
“Didn’t I tell you that Andrezito was nothing but a coward?” questioned Isaltino Morais in his video. “So the ‘bully’, who enters interviews to intimidate journalists and thrive on cowardly threats against the weakest, doesn’t appreciate being confronted?”
It should be noted that during the interview, following a comment by Pedro Costa, one of the panellists towards the end of the segment, André Ventura took off his microphone and left.
“He was flustered when faced with a journalist who didn’t shy away from his attacks, along with Chicão and Costa. And… he fled,” remarked Isaltino Morais. He reiterated, “I said he was nothing but a coward.”
“If before he was André tutti-frutti, now he is André coward. Run, Andrezito. Run,” the mayor retorted. “After all, Andrezito is just a boy.”
Isaltino Morais also questioned André Ventura’s ability to hold the position of prime minister—a role the Chega leader has often expressed ambitions to attain—stating that “those who wish to lead do not flee” and that “a real man does not run away.”
“You flee because you are nothing more than a coward, who leaves when he cannot control the situation”, asserted the mayor of Oeiras in the same video.
Isaltino Morais did not omit a criticism of modern society, which enjoys “entertainment through hatred,” which he considers corrosive.
“Fifty years ago, the country paused for the soap opera ‘Gabriela’: a free-spirited brunette. We have moved from a soap opera based on a Jorge Amado novel, to the slapstick opera of a ‘little monster’ who screams, lies, and threatens the weakest and sulks when confronted directly,” compared the mayor, emphasizing his resolve to continue “facing off” with the Chega leader, in the battle for democracy.
“We will continue here: dismantling your lies and contradictions. See you soon,” concluded the mayor.
How did the controversy begin?
The exchange of accusations between Isaltino Morais and André Ventura commenced during the campaign for the local elections, which took place in October this year, during an interview by the Oeiras mayor on CNN Portugal, where he was questioned about the Chega leader’s candidacy for Belém.
The mayor was unsparing in his criticism, labeling the Chega leader as “the reincarnation of the worst the system has” and a “compulsive liar”.
In response, André Ventura wrote on social media: “If Chega were in power, corrupts like you would be in prison. And they wouldn’t get out so soon.”
Isaltino Morais promptly replied to Ventura’s threats: “Are you nervous, Andrézito? You are used to intimidating journalists and opponents. Do you think you frighten anyone? No one here is afraid of you,” said the mayor, calling the Chega leader a ‘little monster’.
To which Ventura then said: “He’s right. I am the monster that will go after them one by one, until they pay what they owe the country.”
Following the local elections, their exchange seemed to have cooled, but it has now been revived by the mayor of Oeiras.
