The leader of Chega spoke to journalists before a street rally in Odivelas, in the district of Lisbon, on the day the Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an inquiry following several complaints about his presidential campaign banners with the phrases “This is not Bangladesh” and “The Roma must obey the law.”
André Ventura expressed respect for the inquiry as well as the “hundreds or thousands of complaints against the banners,” emphasizing that each citizen or association has the right to request their removal.
“There is a point, however, that I do not want to fail to alert, which is this: if, in the future, for any reason, this message has to be removed from a presidential campaign, what truly concerns me is the message we will be conveying to the country,” he stated.
Ventura argued that his electoral banners merely sought to “state the obvious,” specifically that “the Roma must obey the law,” that “those who come from abroad as immigrants cannot live on subsidies,” and that he does not want Portugal “to become Bangladesh,” asserting that these are not offensive, racist, or xenophobic messages.
“What concerns me is if the judiciary says this is wrong and has to be removed, what message are we conveying to these groups of people [immigrants and the Roma community] and also to the country that wants order, security, that wants to feel the country is on the right track and not on the completely wrong track,” he affirmed.
The presidential candidate also expressed concern about “the impact such a decision could have on the Roma community,” claiming that a judicial decision to remove the banners would send the message that “they can do whatever they want.”
Assuring that he will comply with any unfavorable judicial decision, Ventura called for the preservation of freedom of expression, arguing that in a democracy, “different ideas should be well tolerated.”
When asked whether he would also be the President of the Roma and immigrants if elected, Ventura responded that he would be the President “of all who obey the law and of all who accept that coming to Portugal means complying with the rules.”
Ventura made these statements before a street rally through Odivelas, attended by about a hundred supporters, where he was mainly met with support, with several people requesting photos, cars honking in support as they passed the entourage, and most citizens he encountered promising to vote for his candidacy in the presidential elections.
However, in front of a grocery store, a woman, a PSD voter, approached the Chega leader to complain about “the language” used by his parliamentary group in the Assembly of the Republic, stating that the sovereign body is “turning into a marketplace” and asking him to “calm down.”
“Restraint is needed,” the woman told him, to which André Ventura replied that he “has no restraint against corruption.”
During statements to the journalists, André Ventura was also questioned about the President of the Assembly of the Republic’s request for the Commission of Transparency to open an inquiry into Chega deputy Filipe Melo, accused by socialist Eva Cruzeiro of shouting racist and xenophobic words at her.
Ventura said he had already seen Eva Cruzeiro approaching his parliamentary group and saying “that all Chega deputies were xenophobes,” claiming that she allegedly stated “they should not exist.”
“If there is to be an inquiry into someone, it is to that Luso-Angolan woman, if I’m not mistaken,” he said.
TA // JPS
Lusa/End
