Andre Ventura stated that the economy could not handle it “if we shut down the country, our economy will die and unemployment rates will rise considerably. We must speak out against this because Portugal deserves more than this”.

The regional elections will be taking place on 25 October which is why the leader held a rally at Angra do Heroism in the Açores. Here he spoke to his electorates about the upcoming elections and his opposition over another lockdown.

He admitted that he agrees with the restrictive measures that are now in place and that the Portuguese people should respect this decision as not to worsen the situation.

The leader of Chega criticised the cuts being made due to the pandemic and that the government is not doing enough to support different industries that are all being heavily affected. He compares the money being given to support these workers as “breadcrumbs”. In relation to Açores, the leader of Chega affirmed that “there is not going to be any more money” which is needed to build a new prison, that was needed a long time ago”. He is also running for prime minister and strongly stated that he is not here to be a “runner up”.