Miguel Carvalho, a seasoned journalist who has contributed to Diário de Notícias, O Independente, and Visão magazine, has spent the last five years investigating the Chega party, led by André Ventura. His research included analyzing thousands of pages of internal documents, cross-referencing information, and conducting over a hundred interviews with founders, leaders, former leaders, members, and former members of the party.
“Some of them are speaking for the first time,” Carvalho told Lusa. He is the author of several books including ‘Quando Portugal ardeu’ about the revolutionary period and ‘Amália – Ditadura e Revolução, a história secreta’.
The investigation culminates in ‘Por dentro do Chega – A face oculta de extrema-direita em Portugal’, a comprehensive work of over 570 pages published by Objetiva (Penguin). The book aims to portray the party from the perspective of those who built it, revealing its financial backers, international networks, and how it has attracted voters from other political spheres to become the second largest party in Portugal’s parliament.
The investigation highlights how Chega has mirrored “the very same flaws and vices of politics it vowed to combat” within its own structure.
Founded in 2019, the party sought to stand up for “righteous Portuguese citizens,” to demolish the “system,” cleanse Portugal of “criminals,” expel immigrants, and usher in the “Fourth Republic,” contributing to polarization in Portuguese democracy, according to the publisher’s presentation. Corruption was also a focal point in its most recent election campaigns.
“Contrary to popular belief, Chega is not André Ventura’s creation. It is primarily the result of successive governments’ failures to fulfill promises to the Portuguese people,” leading to voter disillusionment, Carvalho states.
Carvalho emphasizes that he does not wish to conflate Chega’s leaders and members with its electorate, expressing his effort to delve into the “Chega country” during this exploration of the radical right in Portugal, which gained electoral traction in the 2019 legislative elections with one deputy and grew to 60 by 2025, ten years later.
In an excerpt from the introduction, released by the publisher to Lusa, Carvalho notes that most of the book contains previously unpublished material, although some sections are based on articles and reports he wrote for Visão and Público, which have been “adapted, restructured, or expanded.”
Over the past five years, Carvalho collected “thousands of pages of documents that never saw the light of day,” attended numerous Chega events, conducted “a hundred interviews,” and gathered testimonies “about key moments in the party’s life.”
“I genuinely wanted to understand this historical movement in all its facets. I wasn’t satisfied with phone calls nor did I maintain a sterile distance as many advised. I had meals, spent hours and days with its leaders, members, and supporters in various situations,” he writes.
Miguel Carvalho, who has received the Prémio Gazeta de Imprensa and Prémio Jornalismo de Excelência Vicente Jorge Silva, will have his book available in bookstores starting September 15.
