“We have a historic opportunity before us. Whether we fail or succeed depends solely on us. What I want to request, what I want to exhort is: believe, do not give up, go vote and take everyone to vote. We will win on May 18,” declared André Ventura.
The leader of Chega was speaking in Aveiro at the first dinner-rally since the official campaign for the legislative elections began on Sunday.
“Do not let anyone vote for you. Nor think that by staying home, victory or defeat is assured. Even if they give us 60%, we must go vote on the 18th, and you cannot leave anyone at home,” he urged.
André Ventura noted that if Chega does not emerge victorious, it will be due to a lack of mobilization, but he expressed that support has been evident on the streets.
“The country is tired of promises. I find the prime minister’s slogan amusing, ‘let Luís work,’ because he had a year to work and achieved little. António Costa had eight years to work and achieved little, José Sócrates had six years and achieved little, and we could go on,” he criticized.
He anticipated that in four years, he would transform Portugal into “a country for everyone and a country with a future.”
In his 20-minute speech to a room of around 300 people, the leader of Chega emphasized the party’s goal to increase pensions so that no retiree receives less than the national minimum wage.
In the district where Luís Montenegro is running, Ventura also stated, “It is good that the prime minister travels the country to see that it’s not just Chega saying this; it’s the real country that among the flags of AD says it has miserable pensions.”
The Chega leader also highlighted the fight against corruption, promising to present “the largest anti-corruption package in Portugal’s history” on the first day of the new legislature, which will include “ending a series of useless resources” and confiscating assets without waiting for a conviction.
He accused the PS and PSD of turning the country into “a haven of corruption, collusion, and cronyism.”
“From the lowest levels of municipal structures to the highest positions in the State, PS and PSD have allowed the state to be invaded and poisoned by corruption,” he added.
The president of Chega and head of the Lisbon list also referenced the protest by Romani citizens during the party’s walkabout earlier in the day, accusing him of racism and inciting hatred against this community.
Ventura argued that a “candidate for prime minister” must “be humanistic and know that when governing, one must be aware of the presence of people from all ethnicities and nationalities,” yet “must also say, looking into the eyes, that in Portugal, whether Roma or non-Roma, everyone must follow the law, and the idea that some can be above the law will end.”
He issued a warning: “No need to follow us around the country calling names or attacking us, because everyone who knows me knows that when I am attacked, I become even more determined to make the change necessary in this country.”
Pedro Frazão, vice-president of the party, is Chega’s leading candidate for the Aveiro electoral district, where the prime minister and PSD president, Luís Montenegro (representing AD – PSD/CDS Coalition), and PS secretary-general Pedro Nuno Santos are also candidates.
In the last legislative elections, Chega elected three deputies from Aveiro, none of whom were Pedro Frazão, who ran in Santarém.
