“The Constitution must enshrine a President who is more than a moderator. The President must be a decisive political actor because he has decisive political legitimacy,” asserts André Ventura in an interview during the campaign for the January 18 elections.
The leader of Chega believes that under the current system, the “real power” of the President of the Republic lies in his veto power and the ability to promulgate or not. However, if this power is not utilized or lacks the capacity to be used in the most dramatic scenarios of national life, it ends up having little influence, making the head of state a “mere bastion of influence.”
“If we are to take the role of President seriously and justify the salary we pay him and the expenditure on the Presidency, then the President must also have concrete and real powers,” Ventura argues.
He believes the President “should not be a blockage, nor a puppet, nor a crutch of the Government,” but should have more specified powers in terms of control, scrutiny, and oversight to clearly determine “in which waters he moves,” claiming that “today this is not absolutely clear.”
From Belém, Ventura acknowledges that he cannot propose constitutional amendments but can influence them.
“If I am elected President of the Republic, I won’t have the power to make laws in parliament, that’s evident. But I am convinced that there is no other figure with as much legitimacy and capacity to influence parliament, even in a constitutional revision process, as the President of the Republic,” he stated.
Criticizing Marques Mendes and the “chitchat” of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Ventura asserts that it would be important to elect, for the first time, a head of State “outside this PS-PSD party system,” which has made pacts over 50 years of democratic life in Health, Finances, banking, “in everything public or with public influence.” It would be “a guarantee of independence and struggle against the system.”
More than breaking with the system, the deputy and Chega leader considers that “perhaps independence here is even more relevant,” taking a jab at his opponent and former PSD leader, Luís Marques Mendes, for “always talking about independence” but being “the direct line, the support of Luís Montenegro, who is Prime Minister.”
“Now, the Portuguese like and want a President who oversees the government’s actions, not a President who is either a puppet or someone conditioned by the government,” he argues, adding, “if there is a President in collusion with the government, it is not good for democracy; it is bad. And that’s why I understand this anxiety [of Marques Mendes], automatically trying to detach from the Government now.”
Similarly, he intends to combat the idea that the president is “a kind of retired senator.”
“I am not going to be the President of easy unity, of cheap words, comfortable at all times. We can’t cover up the divisions, polarization, and problems with athletic talk,” he said.
Ventura promises to wage a battle to convince the public that he is neither “a decorative vase” nor someone who will “say those banal, politically correct things.”
“If you vote for me on January 18, there will be a change in the style of President of the Republic,” he assures.
From Belém, he will prioritize Justice, communities, and youth, not just warning that reforms are needed but indicating his own path.
“I want to signal that judicial reform must be done. And in which direction should it go? We must ensure the end of these suspended sentences for many crimes, ensuring that people are imprisoned in cases of child sexual abuse, domestic violence, which is a scourge we have in Portugal, the so-called property crime, sometimes considered minor crime, but it is this minor crime that generates insecurity among people,” he points out.
According to the candidate, all presidents advocate for judicial reforms but never specify which ones. “At least I say which one. It’s about limiting appeals because we have appeals that never end, and we must ensure that a person has rights and is entitled to a functional, impartial justice, but they cannot be entitled to make countless appeals ensuring that decisions are never implemented,” he clarifies, implicitly referring to the Marquês process.
“I think judicial reform is necessary, and the president must be the main political protagonist of it,” he emphasizes.
According to André Ventura, this “is not about governing, it’s about politically leading the country.” “I would be a bad president and completely disappoint people’s expectations if I gave them an interview a day or two after being elected President of the Republic and my discourse became that we must aggregate wills, unite, and think about justice in the medium and long term,” he argues.
During the interview, when addressing issues related to the Marquês process, involving former Prime Minister José Sócrates, Ventura reiterated criticism of the Portuguese press, without pointing to specific cases, especially what he called the activism of many journalists.
“And I think that many journalists, in large part, are not good. And I think we have very large activism in journalism, that’s my opinion. But I would be the last to constrain press freedom. Moreover, let me tell you one more thing. It could be the media outlet that I like the least, not the case of Lusa, but it could be the one I like the least, I would do everything to ensure that it is neither censored, nor silenced, nor threatened with economic or corporate issues,” he said.
