Chega Deputy Accused of Paying Neo-Nazis for Internal Party Votes

A sitting member of Portugal's National Assembly is facing allegations that he paid thousands of euros to neo-Nazi militants to secure internal party votes, potentially linking one of the country's fastest-growing political movements to an extremist cell recently dismantled by federal counterterrorism authorities. However, no formal charges have been filed against the deputy as of this reporting.

Why This Matters

• Political Integrity: Rui Afonso, a Chega deputy representing Porto, allegedly enrolled dozens of members from the 1143 neo-Nazi group into the party and paid their membership dues plus additional cash for votes during internal Chega elections.

• Financial Scale: Formal suspects in the 1143 investigation told Portuguese media that total payments involved ranged between €3,500 and €3,800, with some sources suggesting over 100 extremist recruits joined.

• Legal Fallout: The revelations coincide with renewed calls for Chega's dissolution as a party, invoking constitutional violations and links to paramilitary planning.

• National Security Context: The 1143 group was targeted in Portugal's largest-ever counterterrorism sweep against neo-Nazi networks just weeks ago.

Deputy Accused of Bankrolling Neo-Nazi Votes

Rui Afonso, who secured his seat in the Portuguese Parliament for the Porto district under the Chega banner, is at the center of explosive testimony from two former party associates now entangled in the 1143 investigation. Tirso Faria, a formal suspect in the case and coordinator of the 1143's Santo Tirso cell, told Público newspaper that Afonso "enrolled dozens of members in the party, paid their monthly fees, and gave them sums to go vote" during the September 2023 internal elections for Chega's Porto district leadership.

Faria, who himself was a Chega militant and former vice president of the party's Santo Tirso municipal council, estimated the amounts at stake fell between €3,500 and €3,800. Artur Carvalho, once Afonso's deputy at the district level, corroborated the account with Público, stating that "more than a hundred members of that group and others would have entered, and I heard about payments above €3,500."

Afonso's slate won that internal contest, though the party never disclosed the total number of voters who participated—a detail that now carries renewed scrutiny given the alleged influx of extremist recruits. By September 2024, Afonso reportedly chartered a Chega party bus for a demonstration in Lisbon, which doubled as free transport for 1143 members and sympathizers who had enrolled in the party.

What the 1143 Group Represents

The 1143, named after the year Portugal was founded, is a white-supremacist organization led by Mário Machado, one of Portugal's most notorious far-right figures. On January 20, the Portugal Judicial Police's Counterterrorism Unit launched Operation Irmandade (Operation Brotherhood), detaining 37 individuals and naming 15 others as formal suspects. Charges include discrimination and incitement to hatred and violence, aggravated threats and coercion, qualified physical assault, and possession of prohibited weapons.

Investigators conducted 65 searches, including a raid on Machado's prison cell, where he has been serving time since May 2025 for discrimination and incitement to hatred and violence in a separate case. The Portugal Public Prosecutor's Office alleges that the group was adopting a paramilitary structure in anticipation of a so-called "racial war" and had planned two 2026 actions involving public insults to the Prophet Muhammad, designed to provoke violent reactions from Portugal's Muslim community.

On January 24, the Portugal Central Criminal Court of Instruction ordered five suspects held in preventive detention, while the remaining 32 were released—29 under weekly police reporting obligations, three with simple residence verification. Just days earlier, on January 23, a separate court imposed a four-year consolidated prison sentence on Machado, merging a new conviction for inciting hatred against left-wing women with a 2023 suspended sentence for prior racist incitement. The judge cited his "trajectory of serious crimes and an escalation in incitement to hatred offenses in this latest period."

Impact on Portugal's Political Landscape

Among those arrested in Operation Irmandade were three Chega members: Rui Roque, leader of the 1143 Faro cell; João Peixoto Branco, a former Guimarães municipal council member and candidate; and Rita Castro, who ran second on the party's 2021 Guimarães municipal slate. A former Chega deputy, Miguel Arruda, was also reported to have attended a 1143 gathering in Porto with his face covered.

The scandal has energized long-standing legal efforts to dissolve the party. In late October 2025, lawyer António Garcia Pereira, former leader of the PCTP/MRPP, filed a formal complaint with the Portugal Attorney General's Office seeking Chega's extinction on constitutional grounds. On February 4, 2026, Garcia Pereira submitted an updated follow-up to reinforce the dissolution request, invoking the 1143 links, Machado's convictions, and a December 2025 court ruling that forced Chega leader André Ventura to remove campaign posters targeting the Romani community and Bangladesh.

Garcia Pereira's legal argument rests on several pillars:

• Organizational Irregularities: Chega has allegedly failed to communicate updated leadership rosters to the Portugal Constitutional Court for over six years—since August 2019—violating Article 18 of the Political Parties Law, which mandates automatic dissolution for such lapses.

• Racist and Fascist Character: The complaint characterizes Chega as having an "evident, successively reaffirmed and reinforced, racist and fascist nature."

• Paramilitary Ties: The alleged enrollment of 1143 members is framed as evidence of connections to "trained and armed paramilitary militias."

• Incitement to Fear: Social media content disseminated by party figures is said to be grounded in "falsehood and fear" targeting minorities.

Ventura himself has drawn legal fire for public remarks about Portugal needing "three Salazars," referencing the country's mid-20th-century authoritarian ruler.

What This Means for Residents

For everyday Portuguese citizens and residents living in Portugal, the unfolding case raises fundamental questions about the integrity of democratic institutions. If prosecutors determine that internal party elections were indeed manipulated through cash payments to extremist recruits, the episode could prompt tighter regulatory oversight of political party financing and membership verification. Voters in Porto and beyond may face renewed scrutiny of candidate backgrounds during future election cycles. For international residents, this case underscores how Portugal's political climate is evolving and the extent to which mainstream parties may intersect with extremist networks—information relevant to understanding the country's political stability and democratic health.

From a public safety perspective, the dismantling of a group allegedly preparing for armed confrontation and sectarian provocation underscores the continued threat of homegrown extremism. Authorities signal that investigations will continue for several more months, with the potential for additional charges and arrests.

On the constitutional front, Garcia Pereira's extinction bid—while still pending review by the Portugal Public Prosecutor's Office—represents the most serious institutional challenge to Chega since the party entered the Assembly. Should prosecutors move forward and a court agree, Chega's parliamentary seats could be voided, triggering by-elections in affected districts and reshaping the balance of power in the legislature.

Chega has not issued a formal response to the vote-buying allegations as of this weekend, and Rui Afonso has not made public statements addressing the claims. The party's leadership, including Ventura, has historically dismissed accusations of extremism as politically motivated smears. Yet with formal suspects now on record, counterterrorism evidence in hand, and legal mechanisms in motion, the political calculus for Portugal's right-wing opposition bloc is shifting rapidly.

Legal Timeline and Next Steps

• May 2025: Mário Machado begins serving time for discrimination and incitement to hatred and violence in a separate case.

• September 2023: Rui Afonso's slate wins Chega Porto district elections; alleged neo-Nazi recruitment said to have occurred around this time.

• September 2024: Afonso uses party bus for Lisbon rally, reportedly transporting 1143 affiliates.

• January 20, 2026: Operation Irmandade arrests 37, names 15 as suspects.

• January 23, 2026: Machado receives four-year consolidated sentence merging convictions for inciting hatred.

• January 24, 2026: Five suspects remanded in custody; 32 released with conditions.

• February 4, 2026: Garcia Pereira submits updated extinction request citing 1143 links; Tirso Faria's allegations surface in Portuguese press.

The Portugal Judicial Police has confirmed that investigations into the 1143 network, which began in early 2024, will run for at least several more months. Machado remains incarcerated at Paços de Ferreira Prison. Whether the Public Prosecutor's Office will open a parallel investigation into Chega's internal election practices—or pursue charges related to vote-buying—remains an open question as of this writing.