Debate on Nationality Law: Ventura reads children's names; left reacts with indignation and tears

The Chega leader read out a list of names of children from a supposed class to demonstrate that there were “zero Portuguese”. “It was your fault. Today, schools are like this because of you”, said André Ventura. The number caused all the benches on the left to express indignation, with the parliamentary leader of Livre, Isabel Mendes Lopes, becoming emotional.

Pedro Delgado Alves, a PS deputy, was the first to make a question to the table about the conduct of the proceedings, asking for a reflection on what André Ventura did and on the “monster that is awakened and the Pandora's box that is opened when children are used in the Parliament's session room for a debate that instigates hatred”.

“This number that was created is replicated on social media, where they read out the full names of children, many of whom may be Portuguese citizens by origin who may have strange names but who have been Portuguese for many decades, Portuguese citizens who were born in the then overseas territories, citizens who were born in the national territory, and whose apparent strangeness of their name says nothing about their origin, and who deserve our respect. The council must reflect on this, just as we respect the people who sit on these benches and who may only have been national citizens for ten years or less”, said the socialist.

On behalf of Livre, the leader of the parliamentary group pointed out that when children's names are mentioned in Parliament, anyone who hears such a reference “will think that Parliament is talking about them” and that colleagues who know the child in question will identify the name. “This Parliament must be humane, especially with children, and it seems to me that it is the duty of the board not to allow children's names to be mentioned in this Parliament”, said Isabel Mendes Lopes, visibly moved.

In the same vein, requests for questioning were made by the PCP, through parliamentary leader Paula Santos, from the Left Bloc, and Inês Sousa Real, from the PAN, all of whom regretted the number made by André Ventura during the debate on the Government's proposal on the Nationality Law, and warned of the constitutional duty to protect all children.