Portugal’s Public Prosecution Service (MP) has charged Albufeira mayor Rui Cristina, of the populist Chega party, with discrimination and incitement to hatred and violence over remarks he made at a Municipal Assembly meeting last year, the Regional Prosecutor’s Office revealed on Monday, 17th August. The mayor has since responded, saying he was merely making “political” statements and claiming he is being “persecuted”.
According to a statement published on the Regional Prosecutor’s Office website, the alleged offences took place during a Municipal Assembly meeting on 26 November 2025, when members were discussing housing and municipal land in the popular seaside town.
According to prosecutors, Rui Cristina, who was elected mayor of Albufeira under the Chega banner in October 2025, said that, “by his own choice, the municipality would not spend money, in the area of housing, on a particular group of local citizens belonging to a specific minority ethnic group”. These comments were made regarding the municipality’s Roma Gypsy denizens.
The prosecution alleges that the remarks placed the group at a disadvantage compared with other residents of the municipality when it came to meeting housing needs, with Cristina justifying his position by claiming that the minority group “does not pay taxes”.
The Public Prosecution Service argues that the mayor “acted with the intention of offending the honour and standing” of members of the ethnic community, making a blanket accusation that they evade their tax responsibilities, seeking to demean and discriminate against them in access to housing.
Prosecutors also allege that the remarks were made with the intention of fostering feelings of aversion and hatred among the general public, aimed towards the minority community.
Speaking to journalists, Rui Cristina rejected the accusation. “My statements were political, they were not directed against anyone, and they were made in a political body, the Municipal Assembly,” he said. The mayor said he stood by his comments and claimed he was being “persecuted” for defending “equal treatment and equal opportunities for everyone living in the municipality of Albufeira”.
“As long as I am mayor, I will not build housing exclusively for a particular ethnic group or community,” Cristina said, arguing that municipal housing should be available “to all Albufeira residents who need it”, according to criteria that are “fair, transparent and equal for everyone”.
He also said he disagreed with the way “inclusion” is understood in certain policies, arguing that “this inclusion that everyone talks about is exclusion”.
Rui Cristina said he respected the justice system and would face the proceedings “with his head held high and without abandoning” his convictions. He added that his legal team was examining the charges and that, after the judicial recess, a decision would be taken on whether to seek the opening of a judicial inquiry into the case.
The mayor’s rebuttal was broadcast live by the municipality on its YouTube channel and was subsequently shared on Rui Cristina’s own social media accounts, as well as in groups linked to his political activities and party.
The case also includes an investigation into allegations made by the mayor against a municipal councillor, whom he was said to have accused of making a false report about him, in a process of aggravated defamation.
In that part of the case, prosecutors ordered the proceedings to be closed, stating that they had found sufficient evidence that the complaint lodged by the municipal councillor was based on truthful facts and had been made with the aim of prompting an investigation by the Public Prosecution Service, according to the prosecutor’s statement.
In the event of a conviction, prosecutors have also asked the court to order the removal of the material published on online platforms.
The deadline is now running for a possible request to open a judicial inquiry. If no such request is made, the case will proceed to trial under ordinary criminal procedure before a panel of judges, the Regional Prosecutor’s Office said.
In March, Albufeira City Council issued a statement rejecting any suggestion that the mayor discriminated “positively or negatively against any group or ethnic community, or any other group to the detriment of others, which would be illegal”, and said it was co-operating with the Public Prosecution Service’s investigation.
The MP investigation, which included searches at the town hall, followed a complaint by municipal councillor Helena Palhota Simões, elected for the PSD, over what she described as Rui Cristina’s “discriminatory remarks towards the Roma community” during a Municipal Assembly session.
Rui Cristina took office as mayor of Albufeira on 4 November 2025, after being elected for Chega in October with 40.51% of the vote, ending decades of rule by the PSD/CDS-PP coalition.
His victory in Albufeira marked Chega’s entry into local government in the Faro district, after the party won the 2024 and 2025 legislative elections in the Algarve.
Source: LUSA
Photo credit: Tiago Miranda
