Rui Cristina of the Chega party, meaning Enough in English, has unseated incumbent mayor, José Carlos Rolo, in Albufeira, thus marking the first time that the Social Democrats (PSD) have lost the council seat since 2001. Cristina won with 40.51% of the vote, securing three seats on the council.
José Carlos Rolo, the sitting mayor and PSD candidate, trailed with 32.30%, while the PS/Livre/Left Bloc coalition took 18.56%. Despite the victory, Chega fell short of an outright majority: the PSD also holds three mandates, and the PS one.
According to Portugal’s National Statistics Institute (INE), Albufeira has the highest crime rate in the country, with 78.2 reported crimes per thousand inhabitants, more than double the national average of 33. Additionally, as of late 2024, Albufeira’s population reached 48,807 residents, driven largely by a sharp rise in migration, which added 3,845 people between 2021 and 2024. These two facts, one regarding criminality, and the other regarding immigration, have formed the crux of Chega’s plan for the municipality, regularly revisited in speeches and posters littering the streets of the Old Town over the past few weeks.
Anybody walking the streets of Albufeira would have felt that there was a good chance that disillusioned Albufeirans would help to serve up to Chega a historic night on Sunday, and that they did. After jumping ahead of the Socialist Party to take second place in May’s general election, Chega’s hopes to capitalise on frustrations to gain municipalities across the country was successful, if only partially, and it will likely now attempt to use these three councils it has gathered to position itself for a bigger win in the next general election - the race to take the win as the country's President, set for the beginning of next year.
Whilst Chega’s performance in Sunday’s election certainly falls a touch short of what they had been expecting, the Algarve, and specifically Albufeira, has become a focus point for Portugal’s far-right advance. Chega’s leader admitted “we wanted more”, and said Sunday’s elections had not given the party the victory it wanted.
Earlier this month, this same leader, André Ventura, former football pundit who split from the centre-right PSD to found the party six years ago, declared the region his “stronghold” and the launchpad for what he calls Portugal’s political “reconquest.”
A recent Diário de Notícias poll put Chega ahead nationally for the first time. Its populist blend of anti-corruption rhetoric, anti-migrant sentiment and hardline proposals, has struck a chord with voters disillusioned by years of scandal and infighting in the mainstream parties. Analysts now see Ventura as a credible contender for either president, or prime minister.
“If another scandal breaks and snap elections are called, Chega could well win,” says António Costa Pinto, a political scientist at Lisbon University.
In the Algarve, many see local elections as a springboard for national power. “The Algarve is collapsing, Portugal is collapsing,” said Daniel Vicente, a 30-year-old barman in Albufeira, who blames soaring housing costs and low wages for his frustrations. Rents in the resort town have surged more than 16% in the past year, pushing many residents to breaking point.
Vicente echoes much of Chega’s rhetoric, railing against migrants he claims receive unfair support. “They share crowded flats and still have money left. I pay €800 for rent on little more than minimum wage. No one helps me,” he said.
Such resentment has fuelled Chega’s meteoric rise, which whilst seemingly slowed by the lukewarm results of Sunday's results, is believed by many to only continue. Whilst the future is certain, what one can be sure of is that all eyes will be on Albufeira over the next few months, along with the other two municipalities won by Chega - São Vicente and Entroncamento.
