Words, it is said, are like cherries and, in an instant, the debate between Maria Mortágua (BE) and André Ventura (Chega) jumped from real estate speculation to terrorism. To do this, it was enough for the leader of Chega to introduce the Ricardo Robles case into the conversation – the former municipal councilor of the Bloc who bought a building from Social Security for a little over 300 thousand euros and put it up for sale, after rehabilitation work, for more than five million euros – for the debate to slide into a confrontation between terrorist organizations: the MDLP, with Spinolist inspiration, and the FP 25, with Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho as the main mentor.
The first, responsible for the death of Father Max, accused Mortágua, belonged to Chega’s number two, Diogo Pacheco Amorim. In response, Ventura recalled the case of autarkic candidates from the Bloc who were part of the FP 25, remembering some of the attacks carried out in the 80s.
Once the historical reckoning was done, the debate would end up being marked by the rhythm that the coordinator of the Bloco de Esquerda set, not allowing André Ventura to speak about Chega’s proposals, forcing him to constantly talk about what the Bloco de Esquerda puts in on the table, especially in matters of immigration and housing.
Mariana Mortágua criticized André Ventura’s party for wanting to recover Gold Visas, declaring that they are an open door for “corruption” and that they put pressure on housing prices. Ventura responded, stating that the program was only responsible for 3% of real estate investment and that, in total, it injected 4.2 billion euros into the national economy.
While Mariana Mortágua made a point of explaining the case of her grandmother – an 80-year-old woman, frightened by a letter from her landlord – Ventura recalled the times when she lived “in a church” in downtown Lisbon to allude to the before and after of urban rehabilitation in the context of Local Accommodation.
Regarding immigration, Mortágua said that he intends to regularize and integrate immigrants, while André Ventura stuck to the usual garrote when entering national territory.
In short, Mariana Mortágua positioned herself with more confidence to be part of a future left-wing government solution than Chega, if the PSD wins the next Legislatures without a majority. “Nobody wants to sit next to you because of your racist and xenophobic positions”, she declared, in a reference to the most recent statements by Luís Montenegro, leader of the PSD, precisely in a debate with André Ventura.
Clothing
The coordinator of Bloco de Esquerda opted for the classic red blazer and white shirt. This time, it was not possible to determine whether Mariana Mortágua insisted on the “All-Star”, maintaining the “casual-chic” style. André Ventura’s choice was to combine the classic suit and white shirt with a hot pink tie
Present/Absent
Ricardo Robles was the trump card displayed by André Ventura to criticize the “hypocrisy” of the Bloco de Esquerda in combating real estate speculation. Mariana Mortágua responded with Diogo Pacheco Amorim, vice president of Chega, who belonged to the MDLP movement, responsible for far-right attacks in Portugal at the end of the 70s.
The barbs
Mariana Mortágua: “No one wants to sit next to you because of your racist and xenophobic positions”
André Ventura: “In Príncipe Real, the chic left wing people think that the immigration problem only concerns the suburbs”.
Strong ideas
Mariana Mortágua: “We want to integrate and regularize immigration, with access to the National Health Service and Language”
André Ventura: “The Bloco de Esquerda wants an immigration Gare do Oriente, full of homeless people.”