“There is no evidence of betrayal of the country in Marcelo’s statements.” Chega’s case against the President of the Republic was condemned in two ways

Chega will even move forward with legal proceedings against the President of the Republic for “treason against the country”, who legally and politically has no legs to walk

“The process can effectively be initiated, given that Chega has 50 deputies, but I don’t see that the remaining legal conditions have been met, especially the alleged commission of the crime.” This is how constitutionalist Raquel Brízida Castro looks at the process that will be entered into the Assembly of the Republic, and which aims to criminalize the statements made by the President of the Republic regarding possible reparation to the former colonies.

André Ventura justifies the process by understanding that there was a crime of “treason against the country”. At issue are the statements made by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa during a dinner with foreign journalists, the day before the 25th of April, about reparations to former Portuguese colonies, where he proposed the payment of reparations for the “errors of the past”.

The head of state cannot be held politically responsible – there is no way to do so -, so the criminal path is the only one that can bring consequences. In this sense, it would be necessary to verify “a crime committed in the exercise of his functions”, explains Raquel Brízida Castro, emphasizing that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa “did not commit any of the criminal acts alleged by Chega”.

As he is the President of the Republic, the legal process takes place in a special way, provided for in the Constitution of the Republic. Firstly, regarding the initiative, it is important to note that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, being the general holder of the criminal action, “enjoys some immunity before the Public Ministry”, says the constitutionalist. Therefore, according to the law, “the initiative must come from one fifth of the deputies (46) in active positions”. Given that André Ventura’s party has 50 deputies in the Assembly of the Republic, the first step to be taken was, from the outset, guaranteed.

“Chega’s intention has several unknowns”, says constitutionalist Vitalino Canas, considering that it is not certain that Chega will take the first step in the process. “We get the impression that Chega is more concerned with the spectacle than with the mechanism”, he explains.

If André Ventura actually wants to proceed with the initiative under constitutional terms, he will need to obtain parliamentary approval, which means that he will always have to rely on the PSD and PS. “A deliberation with a two-thirds majority of deputies is required [153 deputados] in office”, informs Brízida Castro. “Which is not guaranteed”, says the constitutionalist, remembering that PS and PSD have already revealed that they will stop any Chega initiative. In fact, in statements to CNN Portugal, and already after Chega’s announcement , both Alexandre Poço, PSD deputy, and João Paulo Rebelo, PS deputy, confirmed this.

In a scenario of parliamentary approval, which will not occur from the outset, “it is up to the Supreme Court of Justice to conduct the necessary investigations, with assistance from the Public Ministry”, explains Vitalino Canas. However, the former Socialist Party deputy argues that “even if it came to this point, it would be unlikely to find in the President of the Republic’s statements any type of evidence of betrayal of the country”. And he adds that: “The President is not even competent to make decisions about historic reparations.”

According to the letter of the law, anyone who, “by means of usurpation or abuse of sovereign functions (…) a) attempts to separate from the Mother Country or deliver it to a foreign country or submit to foreign sovereignty, commits the crime of ‘treason against the country’. the entire Portuguese territory or part thereof; or b) offends or endangers the independence of the country”. And the expected prison sentence is 10 to 20 years.

If this case reached the Supreme Court of Justice and the judge considered that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa had committed such a crime, it would be expected that he would be removed from the position of President of the Republic. However, “it is not an automatic consequence”, emphasizes Brízida Castro. “Only if there is a final conviction verified by the Constitutional Court”, she explains.

From a political point of view, the constitutionalist defines Chega’s action as “unprecedented”, predicting that it will be “controversial” and “will bring public debate”. The hypothetical defendant has already devalued André Ventura’s accusation: “That’s what democracy is. In democracy, in electoral time, outside of electoral time, parties can take initiatives. It is, naturally, democracy.”

But the Chega leader insists that the President “stopped representing the national interest and started representing the interests of other States”.