The Rise of the Far Right in Portugal

Should we be concerned...

Last week I shared with you the proposed changes to immigration and citizenship laws in Portugal. As I write this it appears changes may not be enacted as quickly as we feared.. Yet, I still worry about the growth of support for Chega in Portugal…

“Save Portugal” … the banner on the Chega Website.

A Reader’s Comment

I read each and every comment offered by our readers. I value your feedback and learn so much from you. Many, like the following one, stick with me … causing me to think during my morning walks.

I can assure all you that the target is not the expats or the immigrants from first world countries.

The target are the immigrants from hindustan, that come in flights full of men, just men, no families, just men of working age, arriving in PT saying that they are tourists. Many are brought by human traffickers and migrant smugglers. … Their aim is not to integrate, it is just to get documents and move on.

…On people from PT speaking countries (Africans, mainly) and Brazilians, the problem is mainly because some are criminals and enter PT with no criminal background check - I believe that people should be able to start again, but many just want to expand criminal activities, and - worse - violent habits.¹

I had two thoughts when I read her comment.

1. “Human traffickers”, “migrant smugglers”, “criminals” … I have heard these words often related to the immigration problem in the US.

2. I wonder if my neighbors share this view.

Image from Pixabay.

And So, I Asked

Recently, it has been very warm in Algarve,² so warm in fact that in the middle of the afternoon most of the shops were empty … everyone was at the beach. Many of the local merchants were drinking coffee and chatting at our neighborhood gelato shop. I decided to join them and use them as an impromptu focus group.³

I asked if they agreed with the proposed changes. There was 100% support for these changes. Like the reader above there were comments about immigrants moving on once they had an EU passport. There were also concerns about people receiving social benefits because they are “sponsored” by illicit businesses set up to circumvent the few existing immigration laws. Finally, the group was concerned about the increasing crime rate which they believed was related to lax immigration policies.

They immediately offered that these changes were not directed at Denise and me or other self-sufficient immigrants. We were, of course, welcome!

I asked about the five guys that live next door to us. They each work. A few pick crops, and others work in local restaurants. I explained that in the US, many immigrants do jobs that Americans won’t do (such as picking crops, working in meat packaging plants, etc). I asked if this was the case in Portugal. Several people nodded. One person offered the following view:

When I was a child, I was required to work when school was out. I had to find a job … any job. So I worked at the beach selling juice. Today, parents are not requiring their children to work. They take the summer off and play at the beach. So who is going to do these jobs when thousands of tourists visit our town in the summer? ⁴

From inception to the second largest party in only 6 years. Wikipedia.org

The Rise of Chega

I expanded my research a few nights later, over drinks with our closest Portuguese friends. Both are in their 50s, well educated, and are teachers. While they support criminal background checks for people from Portuguese speaking countries, and crackdowns on human trafficking, and what they called “sponsorship shops,” they do not support Chega. Further, they believe that many people who vote for Chega don’t know much about the party and disagree with many of its views (e.g. reinstating the death penalty, chemical castration, anti-abortion, and not allowing same sex marriage)⁵. Instead they suggested that many voted for Chega because neither of the leading parties was doing anything to improve their lives … it was, a protest vote.⁶ Finally, Joǎo concluded the discussion with an ominous prediction:

“They will continue to rise. Chega will be the leading party very soon.”

I never thought I would see this in America. _-From the Washington Post.

You Can Run, But

I wrote before “You can run, but”. This seems more true today than ever before. We moved to a liberal, socialist country ... a country where everyone is entitled to healthcare, women control their bodies, and same-sex marriage is in the constitution.

But we also moved to a country with problems: inadequate wages, a healthcare system that is broken at times⁷, a housing crisis, etc. And when neither party solves these problems $h*t happens.

If there is a silver lining, let me offer Joǎo’s other prediction:

The changes that are being debated in Parliament will take time to implement. Once approved, they must go to the President for signature. He will likely be concerned about their legality and send it to the courts. The courts will review…nothing will happen immediately. It will be six months or more before we know for sure what changes to immigration will become law.

Once again, João is right. For the most current news on the immigration debate, please read this post from Portugal Decoded.

E no entanto, eu choro…até logo

Nanc

Please Note: the block quotes above are not verbatum. I didn’t sit with a notepad or tape recorder. They are my best recollection of what was said.

Previously 2 cans were installed in front of and to the left of the door.

In Case You Were Wondering: At long last, the trash cans were removed from across the street, in front of our house. Installation is now in front of our neighbor’s house. You may recall the engineer said the work would be completed in “uma semana” (1 week)…that was 11 weeks ago. Any bets on how long it will take to repair the street?

1. I have edited the full comment. You can read the full comment here.

2. A town in central Portugal set a new record last Sunday 116 degrees (46.6 degrees Celsius).

3. I have no experience moderating a focus group…as such, my questions may not have elicited accurate responses.

4. For some reason, I thought the “when I was a kid I walked 5 miles through the snow to get to school” was an American thing … turns out it’s not.

5. I recommend you take the time to read about Chega. The parallels with the US are frightening.

6. Speaking of “protest votes,” the New York Times interview of Andrew Schultz won’t leave my mind. A comedian, who now hosts podcasts listened to by millions voted for Donald Trump because he wasn’t happy with either party. Trump clinched Schultz’s vote when he “promised” 3 things important to Schultz during a podcast interview (1. protect IVF, 2. show compassion and empathy to immigrants while enforcing immigration policies, and 3. not getting involved in any foreign wars). First question: why would you believe anything Donald Trump has to say? Second question: he has already broken 2 of his promises, do you really think he gives a rat’s ass about IVF?

7. See Portugal Decoded for more information on the death of an infant after a pregnant woman, reporting pain, sought care at five different hospitals over 13 days.