Presidential candidate André Ventura declared on Friday that his Chega party membership card would not be set aside at the entrance of Belém, with the elections set to take place on January 18.
“I will not stop being a member, just as I will not stop having other cultural, social, and political options of a recreational nature,” he stated, speaking to journalists at the Serralves Foundation in Porto, where he, along with other presidential candidates, participated in an ECO newspaper conference.
“As I said there, with irony, I will also not cease being a member of the animal protection association I belong to, which is an important cause for me,” he stated.
During his remarks to journalists, Ventura clarified that a “President does not abandon convictions” and would leave his role as president of Chega “due to the duties” if he assumes the position of President.
“I will not cease to be from Chega, I will not cease to hold Chega’s values, and I will not cease to identify with Chega. In fact, nobody will vote on the 18th who does not hold Chega’s values and believes I can represent them in the Presidency of the Republic,” he emphasized.
Ventura also addressed the health sector, predicting he would discuss the topic in debates only with opponent Henrique Gouveia e Melo, while considering it regrettable that other candidates were unwilling to engage in the topic.
“I was saddened to see that two of these opponents do not wish to engage in this debate. But it might also be due to some incompetence. In one case [António José Seguro] he has been distant from public life for a long time and might not be informed about the current state of affairs in Portugal on this matter,” said the Chega president.
Regarding Marques Mendes, he suggested that his reluctance to participate might be because “he is so tied to what the Government has done wrong in health that he doesn’t want to associate himself with what the Government has done.”
On the subject of Health Minister Ana Paula Martins, who is embroiled in controversy following the death of a pregnant woman and her baby in Amadora-Sintra, Ventura commented: “The Prime Minister should have already told the minister that she must assume responsibility and that blame in Portugal cannot remain unaddressed. We cannot live in a country where people die in health centers waiting for a consultation or perish at hospital doors or fail to reach emergencies, with no actions taken.”
