On May 18th, Portugal will hold a snap legislative election. The result could mark a turning point for the country’s political trajectory, particularly amid rising concerns about national cohesion, identity, and immigration policy. The implosion of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro’s supposedly centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) government, toppled by a series of revelations about his financial conduct, has exposed the rot of a self-serving, parasitic ruling class. The defining issue of the upcoming vote will not be housing, healthcare, or even corruption. It will be immigration—a relentless, unsustainable deluge that threatens Portugal’s very existence. Only one party—CHEGA, led by André Ventura—has pledged to address this concern, offering a clear alternative to what it calls the failure of mainstream parties to manage the crisis.
The numbers speak for themselves. By early 2025, Portugal was home to 1.6 million legal immigrants out of a population of 10.3 million, with an unknown number of undocumented migrants also present. Since 2007, an additional 900,000 people have acquired Portuguese citizenship. Yet thousands more pour in weekly, exploiting an explosive mix of government complacency, porous borders, family reunification scams, and the action of profit-hungry human trafficking mafias.
In 2023, foreign workers pumped €2.7 billion into social security—a figure often cited by government officials to justify the current migration policy. But this is a charade: Portugal’s tourism-driven, low-wage economy is now a hostage to the constant supply of cheap labour from abroad. All over the nation, locals are left alienated in their own streets, their sense of home and community drowned by a sea of newcomers. Driven by heightened, immigrant-led demand, housing prices have skyrocketed by 120% since 2010, pricing Portuguese residents out of their own homes. Like in the U.S., where the Left claimed that housing inflation had nothing to do with immigration until forced to admit the truth, proponents of mass immigration in Portugal continue to claim the same.
Much of the current crisis is rooted in recent institutional reforms. In 2023, the Socialist-led government abolished the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF), replacing it with the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA). The result was rampant chaos and a system that approved as many as 400,000 legalisations before the AD government collapsed. The fallout is grim: ghettoised enclaves, rapidly spiking crime, and urban decay. These developments have fuelled support for parties that promise stricter immigration controls—most notably CHEGA.
Portugal does not collect ethnic statistics, which makes it difficult to assess the social impact of this demographic shift. Nevertheless, tensions have emerged. In some parts of Lisbon and the Algarve, reports of communal friction, crime, and strain on public services have fed the perception of a country struggling to integrate large numbers of newcomers. Deals signed by the former Socialist government and maintained by the current “centre-right” authorities, facilitating mass immigration from the Indian subcontinent, raise further questions about cultural compatibility and long-term integration. An alternative demographic strategy—focused on higher native fertility and incentivising the return of emigrants—has been neglected. After all, there can be no Portugal without the Portuguese.
CHEGA’s platform addresses these concerns head-on. The party calls for Portugal to withdraw from the UN’s Global Compact for Migration, re-establish a national border service, implement caps on migration tied to labour market needs and cultural proximity, prioritise immigration from Portuguese-speaking countries, and deport foreign nationals who commit crimes. Although vilified as “xenophobic” by the Socialist Party and its fellow travelers in the establishment, CHEGA’s rise suggests these measures are resonating with a growing share of the electorate.
CHEGA has expanded rapidly since its founding—growing from a single seat in 2019 to 50 seats in 2024, with 18% of the vote. Its media-savvy digital campaign, particularly on X and TikTok, appeals to a younger generation disillusioned with establishment politics. While the AD and Socialist Party continue to propose incremental adjustments or further liberalisation of migration policy, CHEGA has positioned itself as a radical alternative.
As voters head to the polls, the central question is not merely who will form the next government, but which vision of Portugal’s future will prevail: one rooted in globalism, or one that prioritises national identity and control over migration. For many Portuguese, CHEGA represents the latter.
