“Thousands of people in Portugal have protested against ‘uncontrolled immigration’ in a rally called by the far-right Chega party,” euronews writes.
“[Chega leader] André Ventura … admitted that ‘one demonstration will not bring about the transformation that Portugal needs,’ but considered that the protest, which took place on 29 September was ;the starting shot,'” The Portugal News wrote.
The demonstration attracted 2,000 to 4,000 people, depending on which news outlet reported it.
It wasn’t just Chega — Mário Machado, the convicted criminal who’s faced all kinds of accusations and now heads the ultra-right 1143 group, showed up with dozens of his supporters at the rally too, according to Diário de Notícias.
But so did the counter-protesters, with shouts of “Não passarão” — the anti-faschist slogan dating back to at least the Spanish Civil War — and the more local “25 de abril sempre, fascismo nunca mais!,” according to the publication. It was relatively tame: DN counted just two arrests.
Here’s a video of the festivities: https://www.euronews.com/video/2024/09/30/thousands-in-portugal-march-against-immigration-in-rally-called-by-far-right-party
