André Ventura, the extremist who wanted to confine Roma, is the new opposition leader in Portugal.

BarcelonaThe leader of the far-right Portuguese party Chega, André Ventura, continues to gain support and consolidate his strength in the Portuguese political landscape. The key vote of residents abroad has made his party the second most voted force in the Parliament, ahead of the Socialists, and this makes him the new leader of the opposition. In Portugal, there is no regulation establishing the functions of this figure, but in practice, Ventura could become a key interlocutor for the prime minister on matters of state, such as appointments to oversight bodies or foreign policy. (in Catalan enough), the party founded by Ventura in 2019, is not the result of a one-time phenomenon. In last year's legislative elections, the party shook up the Portuguese political landscape: the far-right won 50 of the 230 seats in the Assembly of the Republic. A result that confirmed it was here to stay—a message that Ventura himself repeatedly reiterated during the last election campaign. This time, it won 60 seats (behind the conservative Democratic Alliance, which obtained 88) and surpassed the Socialist Party (PS), which fell to third place with 58 seats.

On his way to becoming leader of the opposition, André Ventura has gone through several professions: he has been a teacher, a sports commentator, and, since 2017, a politician. His emergence onto the political scene began that year as head of the local list for the Social Democratic Party (PSD) in Loures, Lisbon. There, he began to define the core of his political strategy: an openly xenophobic discourse that linked insecurity to the presence of immigrants and the Roma community. These statements, often without any objective basis or data to support them, generated a strong controversy.

His words earned him strong criticism, even within his own party. Several PSD members felt he violated fundamental principles, and Ventura was on the verge of being expelled. This situation ultimately led him to found his own party, Chega., From there, he has capitalized on social unrest with a populist, far-right, nationalist, and exclusionary message.

The 'Portuguese Donald Trump'

The far-right leader has presented himself since his beginnings as a voice that dares to say what others keep silent, with the clear objective of building an alternative to the center-right government. With provocative rhetoric and intensive use of social media, he has built a narrative laden with disinformation, key to connecting with disaffected sectors of Portuguese society. This style, combined with his positions, has often earned him the nickname "The Struggle for the Left." Donald Trump Portuguese.

One of the journalists and writers who best know his figure, Vítor Matos –author of the book On Ventura's head–, defines him as an "opportunist" and identifies three key phases that have marked his rise as a leader of the far right: success, fame, and power.

In an interview with Efe, Matos explains that the politician sought success first in the seminary and then at university: he graduated in law from the New University of Lisbon and worked as a professor. Fame came to him later, as a political and later sports commentator on the Portuguese television network CMTV. Between 2017 and 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he sparked a huge controversy by proposing a specific lockdown for the Roma community, a statement that led to his dismissal for "crossing all the red lines" established by the network.

Finally, faced with the difficulty of achieving real power through these means, Ventura made the definitive leap into politics. Not only did he manage to enter Parliament, but he even considered running in the presidential elections scheduled for January 2026. He discarded this idea following the early call for the legislative elections in May.

André Ventura's party, Chega, defines itself as a right-wing, conservative, reformist, liberal, and nationalist force. With the slogan "Save Portugal," the party places the family at the center of its societal vision, considering it a fundamental pillar for ensuring social and political stability. Along these lines, it proposes the creation of a Ministry of the Family.

The far-right party also advocates measures such as the elimination of the Ministry of Education and the gradual dismantling of the Portuguese public healthcare system in favor of a more liberalized and private model.

This stance has earned him the support of prominent figures on the European far right. Following the May 18 elections, leaders such as Marine Le Pen in France and Santiago Abascal in Spain publicly congratulated Ventura. "Patriotic and conservative forces are growing in all European nations, despite the cordons sanitaires and the media hegemony of globalist parties," Abascal stated on the social media platform X.