During a televised debate on TVI, André Ventura launched criticisms against the immigration policies of previous governments, accusing the BE, formerly led by Catarina Martins, of contributing to laws that facilitated human trafficking and slavery. In response, Martins argued that illegal situations cannot be created by law and expressed being “shocked by the way Mr. Ventura speaks about illegal immigrants when he has two deputies in his bench who were immigrants.”
Martins accused the Chega leader, who collaborated with PSD and CDS to pass laws on foreign nationals and nationality, of stripping rights from tax-paying workers in Portugal while granting tax benefits to millionaires and holders of ‘golden visas.’ She emphasized her dedication to Portugal throughout the debate, saying, “Yesterday we all celebrated the great victory of the under-17 [football world championship]. That winning goal was scored by Dionísio Cabral, the son of Guineans born in Portugal. Under Mr. Ventura’s law, he could never have been Portuguese. Mr. Ventura hates Portugal. I love Portugal,” she declared.
After hearing these criticisms, Ventura countered by alluding to the BE’s dismissal of women who had recently become mothers. “If anyone has experience in exploiting pregnant women and firing people over the phone, it’s BE,” he stated, before addressing Martins’ claims of loving Portugal. “You betrayed Portugal by allowing everyone without control. This let criminals flood the country. Between us, I am the one who loves Portugal,” he argued, prompting smiles from Martins that irritated Ventura.
Ventura urged, “Don’t laugh,” suggesting that increased immigration led to a rise in crime and attributing responsibility to Martins and leftist parties. Martins immediately refuted this, highlighting that “the crime associated with immigration, according to PJ figures, is 1%.”
Who’s Calling Who? “You Are the Fool”
“Mr. Ventura, in his parliamentary group, has 40% of deputies with judicial issues or past judicial issues. Therefore, I’d tread carefully when talking about others,” Martins remarked, while Ventura noted that BE has only one deputy, Mariana Mortágua, with legal involvements, asking Martins not to be foolish.
“Don’t call me a fool, because if anyone is foolish here, it’s you for not understanding the Portuguese want something different, not the clownery you present,” Ventura retorted.
The candidates also touched on hate speech, with Martins linking it to the far-right and urging reflection on defending democracy from its attackers. Ventura accused her of being an “actress,” repeatedly referencing her profession before election, which drew a sharp response from Martins.
“No one belittles me because I worked in culture or art before being elected. To love Portugal is to love culture and art,” Martins declared, to which Ventura replied he took no patriotism lessons from her.
In closing, Ventura accused Martins of being friendly towards Russia, Venezuela, Iran, and wanting to exit NATO. Meanwhile, Martins closed the debate urging citizens not to let democracy be “tainted by fake news,” even if voting for Chega. “Even if you want André Ventura to be prime minister, which he will never be,” she provoked, leading Ventura to accuse her of arrogance.
