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The same day that André Ventura acknowledged to the Observer the difficulties in dealing with some criticism in Chega’s structures – which led him to create a “cork law” for social networks – the differences extended to the party’s face-to-face meetings. On December 5, a meeting organized by the Santarém district attended by the vice president and municipal coordinator, Nuno Afonso, ended up being interrupted by assaults and even had to call the police to the place. Both the president of the Santarém do Chega district and the PSP confirm the episode to the Observer, although there are slight differences in the versions presented.
A source from the Santarém PSP District Command explained to the Observer that, “at 3:45 pm on December 5 of this year, a PSP patrol went to Casa do Brasil, in Santarém, as there were reports of injuries to his physical integrity”. Upon arriving at the scene, says the same PSP response to the Observer, the agents did not witness “any aggression, however, five people were identified but none of them were arrested “. The PSP also says that “according to the information that was relayed to the police at the scene, two people will have been hitAnd that “there is no report of weapons involved.”
It all started when the president of Chega / Santarém called, through a private group on WhatsApp, a meeting with 12 militants from the district to discuss municipalities and invited the vice president of Chega, Nuno Afonso. The three members of the Chega de Salvaterra de Magos installation committee and a former leader of Chega de Coruche proposed to question the fact that they were not present at the meeting, that they knew that others were scheduled for 3:00 p.m. that day at the Casa . do Brasil, in Santarém.
The president of the Chega de Santarém district, Manuela Estêvão, explained to the Observer that “the district has 700 and those militants and that, in addition to a pandemic, it could not summon them all.” Without giving details of the criteria, he told the Observer that he chose to “choose those who were interested in participating in a clarification on local elections.”
The meeting started with about 12 elements until the three leaders and a former local Chega leader burst into the room. Manuela Estêvão asked the four to leave the place, but none accepted the request. “We have to comply with the contingency plan, please leave the room,” said the district official, who stood up in the meantime. The three members of Salvaterra’s Installing Commission simply stayed in space and one of them asked, “Why can’t we be here?”
More excited, the militant and former president of the installation committee of the Coruche council addressed Nuno Afonso and other elements who were at the table to protest. However, there was a Chega de Santarém militant who directly challenged the Coruche militant and it was then that the situation worsened. The militant threw two punches at the man and had to be caught in order not to continue with the attacks.
Manuela Estêvão confirms this version to the Observer, but says that there was only one person attacked and that the second aggression reported to the police will eventually come from a complaint from the aggressor herself, who had to be fought (physically) after having hit the first. militant of Santarém. The Santarém do Chega district, Manuela Estêvão told the Observer, has already referred the matter to a lawyer and is going to press charges against the Coruche militant.
The police, the leader tells the Observer, were called to the scene by the district vice president, Mário Lucas. The president of the Santarém district explains that she dissolved the Coruche Installation Commission because the then president – who is accused of attacking a Santarém militant – “did nothing and spent his life on social media insulting the militants ”.
Manuela Estêvão admits that these are the party’s “growing pains” and “deeply regrets” the image that this situation gives of Chega and, in particular, of the district that she leads. Chega de Santarém will have apologized to the local authority, which gave the space, for the device caused. Contacted by The Observer, the party’s vice president, Nuno Afonso declined to comment on the contempt at the Chega meeting he witnessed.
There have been numerous internal disturbances in the Chega district. At the Party Convention, several problems had already been exposed in the pulpit, ranging from disagreements in the Porto district, to a war between the Council of Jurisdiction and the Leiria district. In such a way that during the convention a joint statement was issued by the Chega National Convention Board and the Chega National Council of Jurisdiction to repudiate “the repeated disobedience of the Leiria District Board to the decisions of the CJN regarding the Elections of the Leiria Delegates to the Convention, whose members will be the subject of a disciplinary proceeding, which due to the seriousness of the acts carried out may culminate in the expulsion of the aforementioned militants ”.
The former head of list Chega por Leiria and vice president of the Leiria district, Luís Paulo Fernandes, even presented a motion of censure directed at André Ventura and the district president, Ana Ferrinho. The former municipal deputy of Pedrógão Grande was recognized when he criticized the leadership and said that it was “regrettable” that he did not know what procedures were necessary to be delegated to the Convention. He also complained that it was necessary to have shouted in order to enter the last National Council of the party.
In the motion, two militants were also asked to withdraw political confidence. In one of them, one of the reasons given is “misconduct on social networks”, with Luís Paulo Fernandes complaining of having been attacked on social networks on pages such as “Pai de Abutres” or fake Facebook profiles such as “Fofinhos de Leiria” .
Shortly after, the president of the Leiria district, Ana Ferrinho, also responded with a motion of censure, but to the National Council of Jurisdiction. Chega’s militant 62 also said that the list that competes with her was illegal and attacked the “boastful and promiscuous position of the Council of Jurisdiction, which does not respond and does not allow appeals against decisions and attitudes of clear favoritism and disadvantage to non-friends, notorious, offensive and damaging to various district directions from north to south of the country ”. In addition, he also proposed “an internal organ or mechanism of the party to appeal the decisions of the National Council of Jurisdiction, so that they are not immediately sovereign or only appealable outside the party (Constitutional Court).”
There were whistles and applause, which led the president of the Convention Bureau, Luís Filipe Graça, to warn about the imminent entry into television rights: “We are going to go live, so I ask the delegates to behave as required by the Convention. ”.
The height of these structural problems would finally come to André Ventura, who, in the midst of these wars, could not pass unscathed and only managed to elect his leadership the third time he put the list to a vote. Before, he had to cry on stage and threaten to close the door.
After Congress, the cases continued. An example of this were the episodes that led to the departure of André Ventura, Patrícia Sousa Uva, from the national mandate. The president of the Porto district, José Lourenço, reportedly refused to hand over the signatures collected in that district to Sousa Uva and made a gala in a Facebook post. The case was reported by Saturday magazine, which had access to José Lourenço’s publications before they were deleted, which pointed directly to Sousa Uva: “Since I don’t like wine, I’m not a fan of grapes. In other words, Mrs. Uva can run, jump, foam and the devil is four, she will not be able to divide Porto ”.
José Lourenço also said in that publication that he did not give “the signatures to anyone”, adding: “We do not accept this, we only give it to those we trust.” Later, the district he directs handed over the signatures to the party’s vice president, Nuno Afonso.
In Braga there were also problems when the district went to vote. According to the newspaper “O Minho”, there were serious accusations among the candidates, with xenophobia in the mix. One of the candidates, Filipe Melo, criticized the president of the Bureau, Cibelli Pinheiro de Almeida, for postponing the elections. Once again in a Facebook post -where many of Chega’s internal guerrillas are made- Filipe Melo wrote: “It will not be a BRAZILIAN who governs the destinies of a nationalist and patriotic Party. I will never ever allow it. ” According to “O Minho”, shortly after Filipe Melo edited the publication and changed “Brazilian” to “lady”. Cibelli Pinheiro de Almeida ended up resigning. Therefore, the National Office had to manage the electoral process in Braga.
On the other hand, Filipe Melo issued a statement in which he said that he would file a criminal complaint with the Public Ministry for “attacks carried out by members of the competing list.” Attacks that, according to the same statement, “were reflected in threats and the disclosure of falsehoods on social networks, as well as persecution through telephone calls and SMS, in a total lack of respect for the most elementary principles by which one should seek civility, as well as ideals because the party rules ”.
The guerrilla environment that exists in various party structures and that is manifested through social networks led Chega’s president, André Ventura, to create Directive 3/2020, which criticizes the party or the national leadership in the press, in the networks. social groups or even WhatsApp groups. The so-called “cork law” has been in force since December 2 and has been communicated to militants by email.
Ventura creates a directive that imposes sanctions on militants who criticize the leadership. Setúbal’s manager has already been suspended
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