The market is empty. There are few people on the terraces in the square in front. It’s warm, the sun is strong. It’s almost three o’clock in the afternoon. A PSD propaganda truck arrives and from the columns comes the repeated refrain, sung: “Miguel Albuquerque to our President.” It starts a few seconds later, turns to the left and heads away from the entrance to the Ribeira Brava Municipal Market.
“They are teasing there,” says someone on this Monday afternoon looking for shade near Forte de São Bento, a small fortress. Further on, almost next to the bust of the Viscount of Heredia, the Viscount of Ribeira Brava, another car stops. Miguel Castro, leader of Chega na Madeira, and some supporters leave. Chega’s propaganda car passes them.
That’s actually all men. Not everyone wears a tie. A little later, Pedro Pinto, parliamentary leader, Rita Matias, Rui Paulo Sousa and other leaders arrive. André Ventura would arrive shortly afterwards. There are no more than 20.
There are no flags, no music, nor the usual barrage of propaganda to dish out. There are two bags of campaign material and flyers that would be the final focal point of the group photo – ‘show the flyers’ – in front of the small fort that is now a tourist office.
But there is a difference: too many journalists. Ventura greets his supporters and prepares the statement of the day. A lapel microphone is mounted. “We always record and publish statements [nas redes sociais do partido] because they don’t always show it on the news,” they tell me.
In just over five minutes, the leader of Chega speaks of a “very important” entry into the regional parliament, praises the work of Miguel Castro, says he wants to be the “third political force” in Madeira, often uses the word “player ” , guarantees that he does not mind – it is even a “good sign”, he says – that no party wants to be with Chega, and hopes that Miguel Albuquerque is coherent and that if the PSD [Ventura ignora o CDS] If you don’t have the majority, ‘have the decency’ to leave and let ‘others’ rule differently.
He also did not forget the “inaugurations” and “visits” of the president of the regional government, which, he emphasizes, are a “flagrant violation, a continued violation of the obligations of neutrality (…), a gross violation of the law “. “If nothing happens”, the CNE’s “warnings” do not seem sufficient, as “this will continue until the end of the campaign”.
After the statements, he chatted for a few minutes on the way to the market with a group of six men who were playing cards in the shade with a PS deck. “We don’t have this yet. If we do, they will play with ours” – he looks at Pedro Pinto – “and burn it”. A CDS flag hangs on one of the walls of the pergola.
The market remains empty. Only two people. An English woman at a fast pace and a Madeiran man who looks curiously at the entourage. The return to the ground floor is short-lived. The space is small. All of Ventura’s steps are closely followed by the guard who does not go unnoticed.
“It’s him, it’s him,” says the woman who came in at that moment. And screams. “Oh, it’s him.” He drops what he brought, a few small bags and his wallet, on a fruit counter and runs to André Ventura, who smiles. But you can notice the discomfort caused by the exuberance of the woman giving him kisses, hugging him, ruffling his hair and even pinching his cheeks.
Nearby, not even five or six meters away, the guard looks surprised. Rui Paulo Sousa, who is standing next to Ventura, tells him from there, “You’re caught.” And laugh.
In the background, on the right, some stairs can be seen. The entourage goes up. The emptiness continues. There is a group of four women and two men on the terrace, people who have “already retired”. There is a northern accent. And that’s where Ventura is going. The “it’s him” is repeated. One of the women announces in a very high tone that it is PS, but with “all due respect”. “And we for you,” answers the Chega leader.
The group gets out and walks towards the street. They go outside, turn left and walk into the street. There’s hardly anyone there. Every now and then someone passes by. In a café, meters above, a man sits on an inner terrace on the left, a table full of papers. Ventura stops and says hello. And it follows.
I go back and ask the mayor of Ribeira Brava, Ricardo Nascimento, who is wearing a T-shirt and sweating on his face – “it’s from the heat, sorry,” he says – whether the Chega leader knew who he was talking to had spoken.
“No… but I welcomed you to the municipality. We are all democrats,” says laughing the man who led the “Ribeira Brava First” movement, supported by PSD and CDS. And then he praises his administration and that of Albuquerque. Talk about ‘partnership’.
The PSD propaganda truck appears again, but this time it doesn’t stop. “There they are,” someone says. The delegation, which had turned left, back to the square in front of the market, continues its way through empty streets. They find someone here and there. There are almost no journalists left. Most left shortly after the short visit to the market.
We sat on a terrace near the bust of the Viscount of Heredia. Ventura, who had “a vision” on Sunday because of the large number of undecided players [mais de 30%]tells me that the “Albuquerque zigzag” [sobre entendimentos com o Chega] it was provoked “by a tug on the national PSD” telling him to “change” his speech. And according to him, this is because his party can choose “between three, four or five deputies”.
And if “Miguel Albuquerque is one of the richest politicians in the country, at the expense of Madeirans” [acusação do líder do PS-M]André Ventura challenges the president of the regional government “to explain the origin of wealth”, which he thinks is “a fact”. “It’s strange that Albuquerque doesn’t explain the origins of its wealth. I challenge him to explain it,” he says. Do you have to prove it? Tell me yes.
That’s why I ask: you also have to prove the accusation of corruption on the posters, will you do that? André Ventura claims that “there are serious suspicions of recruitment in Madeira at central and local government levels, in terms of various adjustments” in “reports of the Court of Auditors and other entities”. The PSD, he says, must explain “this”.
What is relevant, he says, is that “corruption is also reflected in the level of prosecution of those who report [referência ao antigo governante madeirense e deputado no parlamento nacional Sérgio Marques que falou das “obras inventadas” no arquipélago] and who is completely removed and silenced.”
In 2019, Chega received 619 votes. Now polls point to the election of one or more delegates, while Ventura thinks it is possible to elect five.
Source: DN
