The end of a year always invites you to take stock. Looking back, 2025 will be marked as a turning point in Portuguese political life. Not only because of the electoral results, but above all because of the profound change that was felt in the relationship between citizens and politics. It was a year in which many people stopped resigning themselves, raised their voices and decided to actively participate in the future of the country.
The legislative elections brought a clear and unequivocal signal: CHEGA became the second largest party in Portugal. A historic result, which broke with decades of bipartisanship and proved that the political system failed to meet the expectations of a significant part of Portuguese people. It wasn’t just a great election night, it was confirmation that there is a new political reality, built with votes, with courage and with a greater demand for responsibility.
This growth did not come about by chance. It was a reflection of consistent work, a permanent presence on the ground, direct language and a clear refusal to align with easy consensuses that resolve little. CHEGA now has a decisive voice in Parliament and this voice was heard, disturbing, questioning and forcing power to account.
Significant developments were also seen in local elections. CHEGA won the presidency of three municipal councils and increased the number of elected officials and mandates across the country. It is true that the results fell short of the initial ambitions, but growing, consolidating local structures and asserting itself as a real alternative in so many municipalities is, in itself, a clear sign of political maturity and rooting in the territory.
On a personal level, this was also a year of continuity and increased responsibility. I remained a deputy in the Assembly of the Republic and proudly assumed the councilor position in the Viana do Castelo City Council for CHEGA. Two distinct but complementary spaces, where the mission is the same, representing people, monitoring power and defending concrete solutions to real problems.
Being a deputy means giving a voice to those who often don’t have one. Being a councilor means being even closer, knowing the faces, difficulties and expectations of a specific community. In both roles, coherence and proximity are not optional, they are an ethical and political obligation.
This year demonstrated that CHEGA definitively stopped being a protest phenomenon and established itself as a structuring political force. A force that grows, that learns from results, that recognizes mistakes and that maintains a clear direction. Our presence is uncomfortable because it represents change. And change, by definition, is never comfortable for those who have become accustomed to power without scrutiny.
The year that ends leaves enormous challenges ahead, economic, social and institutional. But it also leaves an unshakable certainty: there are more and more Portuguese people who refuse conformity and who believe that politics can, and should, be different.
CHEGA has a voice. It has presence. And it has responsibility. Next year will require even more work, more rigor and more proximity. It is with this awareness that I face the future, convinced that the change initiated has no return.
And because when people believe, participate in a conscious and determined way, they experience this feeling of change, politics changes and Portugal changes.
Economist and deputy to the Assembly of the Republic for Chega