Portugal will, after 40 years, have a second round in the presidential elections. Unlike Brazil, where the president heads the executive and appoints ministers, in Portugal the position is almost symbolic. But, despite being a less relevant role there, this Sunday’s elections (18) are taken very seriously and had a star: André Ventura. He came in second, with 24.6% of the votes, behind socialist André Seguro who surprised and got 31%.
The importance of this election can also be measured by participation. Almost 50% of Portuguese people went to the polls this Sunday (18), considered the highest turnout in 20 years. The second round is scheduled for February 8th.
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Ventura ran a campaign with the slogan “Save Portugal”. When he was a member of the Portuguese parliament, in 2023, the then deputy expressed solidarity with the large portion of Brazilians who did not accept the election of a president who had just come out of a stint behind bars. In front of his fellow parliamentarians, the founder of Chega called Lula a “criminal”.
“We understand the fury and anguish of millions of Brazilians when they see their country governed by a criminal,” said Ventura. He was interrupted and censored by colleagues, but the message was given and the video went viral.
It was not only the corruption scandals that have always marked the Brazilian president’s career that Ventura criticized, but also his geopolitical alignment.
“Lula da Silva must be condemned for his proximity to Russia and his inability to see the suffering of the Ukrainian people, contrary to the diplomacy that Portugal has done well, at the European level, for his proximity to China, for his hesitation in condemning the South American dictatorships that have caused so much pain, poverty and suffering, but above all and above all, for the level of corruption he represents”, he said, before a visit by Lula to Portugal.
Later, in 2023, Ventura called a demonstration in which he again called Lula a thief. And he never stopped referring to the Brazilian president like that. Lula commented generally on the episode, saying that “when people don’t have good things to say” they make a “ridiculous scene”.
“I don’t like being with thieves”
In December 2025, when asked whether he would receive Lula, during an interview on Portuguese TV, he declared that he would “have difficulty” because he does not like the company of “thieves”. “If I had to be with Portuguese companies, I would do it, maintaining this logic, that I don’t really like being with thieves”, he said.
Born on January 15, 1983, Ventura began his political career working for the Social Democratic Party, the PSD, the main party of the center-right coalition that gained the majority of seats in 2024. Ventura was elected councilor for the PSD, taking office in 2017 and resigning in 2018, the year in which he left the PSD because he felt “betrayed”. He founded Chega in 2019, to contest that year’s European legislative elections. In 2021, the politician was a candidate for President of Portugal, reaching third place and more than 490 thousand votes.
Ventura has a law degree from Universidade Nova de Lisboa and a doctorate in public law from the University of Cork, Ireland.
Liberal in economy, conservative in customs
The Portuguese politician defines himself as “liberal in economics and conservative in morals”. He has been compared several times to former president Jair Bolsonaro, having been supported by the captain himself and his children in the legislative elections. Bolsonaro even made a video asking for votes and support for Ventura and Chega.
When thanking Bolsonaro for his support, Ventura criticized the Portuguese left.
Ventura is a strong supporter of constitutional reform in Portugal and defends the reduction of the number of deputies in parliament, chemical or physical castration for those convicted of rape or sexual violence against children, life imprisonment, an increase in the sentence for those convicted of corruption, the limitation of the positions of prime minister and government ministers only to Portuguese citizens and the end of gender ideology.
Ventura has already worked as a university professor in Portugal and also as a sports commentator on a TV channel, where he became quite popular. In his doctoral dissertation he criticized what he called “penal populism”.
Border control
Sometimes considered anti-immigration, Ventura invested in the security discourse and is also a strong supporter of greater control over borders.
In a speech given in 2024, Ventura emphasized the need for greater border control in Portugal. He stated that only those who “love” the country should enter Portugal.
“If you commit a crime here, you will go to prison for several years or even decades. Once you serve your sentence, you will not spend another second in this country”, he defended.
