In the communist stronghold of Setúbal, “nobody imagined that Chega would win here”
For decades, residents of this port city south of Lisbon voted for left-wing parties. Following deindustrialization, they turned overwhelmingly to the far-right party in the May 18 legislative elections, “Público” reports in this report.
Joaquim Alfredo Batatinha, 73, spent seven years fighting in Angola [which pitted Portugal against independence rebellions from 1961 to 1975]. He is proud to be a veteran and believes that this is why he is “very well treated” at the Social Welfare Centre for Retirees and the Elderly in Setúbal. He eats lunch there several times a week and picks up his dinner. Dinner is “a little soup, a glass of water and watching television” .
Wearing a striped shirt under a maroon knitted vest, Joaquim Batatinha is ready to explain what made him vote for Chega in 2024 and in the May [legislative] elections. “I'm sick, sick, sick of seeing the PS [left] and the PSD [right], the PSD and the PS in government. That's what's going to shake up this whole gang. Here's my answer: I voted for Chega because I was fed up.”
“The Socialist Party is linked to Socrates [Socialist Prime Minister from 2005 to 2011, cited in several corruption cases]. I wrote him a letter when he was in detention, wishing him many Christmases to stay there. I voted PSD several times, but they cut my pension and introduced taxes and surcharges; that was the end of the PSD for me,” he continues. He wanted to give
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