Enough! Unveiling the Rise in Racially-Motivated Violence in Portugal"
Portuguese hospitality has always been what I am the most proud of in this country. I have grown with this narrative, which I have seen reproduced around me every single day, just to grow and understand its limits. For some, this hospitality had clear boundaries defined. It was not targeted at anyone - this hospitality had a face (and a nationality).
Many consider Portugal a “heaven”, a safe port, a place of opportunities and enchanting stories. Who could blame them? The thin-sand beaches, the sunny weather, the low prices… that is to dream for. The 2023 Global Peace Index ranked Portugal as the 7th safest country in the entire world. We must acknowledge that these indexes are comparative. Nonetheless, a pertinent question persists: is Portugal a safe country for all?
The abbreviated answer would be: No! Portugal is not a safe country for all, and its sense of safety and security is deteriorating considerably.
Over the course of these past few months, violent episodes have become more recurrent, shaping the daily lives of many thousands. Events motivated by pure hatred, racism and xenophobia have written many newspaper headlines - the majority of which do not seek justice for the victims but rather continue the brutality. Hostile narratives that absolve the perpetrators of the responsibility for the act while prominently naming and displaying the victims in every possible media channel only serve to prolong the pain, like a knife that continues to bleed slowly - dehumanising the victim and the nature of the act. The victims quickly become just another number, one of the many repetitive news stories in various newspapers and media platforms until they are forgotten. Until when?
On the dawn of 3rd May 2023, a group of four or five men assaulted two immigrants in Campo 24 de Agosto, in the heart of Porto. 10 minutes later, a group of 10 men invaded the house of 10 immigrants with sticks and a firearm and attacked them ((Lusa, 2024c).
In the early morning of the 30th of December, a group of around 10 youths assaulted with punches and kicks a couple of Brazilian men. An attack that was classified as being motivated by racism and homophobia (Expresso, 2024).
Gurpreet Singh, a 25-year-old Indian immigrant, was shot dead in his house in Setúbal by a racist militia in 2022. The murderers tried to kill the five other housemates (Matos, 2023).
Ademir Araújo Moreno, a Cape Verdian immigrant, was beaten to death outside a disco on Faial Island in the Azores (Lusa, 2024b).
In a single month, a group of youths aged 16 to 19 years old beat 15 immigrants in Olhão, Algarve (Amado, 2023).
7 militaries from GNR were accused by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of 32 crimes of kidnapping and assault against immigrants in Odemira. The Public Prosecutor’s indictment stated that “the soldiers allegedly acted “in manifest hatred” related to the nationality of the immigrants” (Carvalho, 2023).
These cases of extreme violence and hatred are just among the most recent ones of many more that have occurred during Portuguese history.
Addressing Hate Crimes: A Critical Look at Portugal's Legislation
Hate crimes in Portugal increased by 38% in 2023 (Lusa, 2024a). Bertil Cottier, President of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, has demonstrated a preoccupation with the rise of hate crimes towards non-European immigrants and the inadequate legislation in place (MadreMedia & Lusa, 2024). Furthermore, the same recognition was made by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, which stated that “law enforcement agencies have not recorded the bias motivations behind hate crimes and that Portugal’s hate crime statistics do not sufficiently distinguish hate crimes from other crimes” (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, n.d.-a).
The Portuguese legislative framework still falls short in criminalising and dealing with hate crimes. Despite citizens’ initiatives in place to advance the law; for the moment, Article 240 of the Portuguese Penal Code "penalises discrimination and the incitement of hatred and violence, with the provision of prison sentences for these criminal offences" (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, n.d.-a). Additionally, “Article 132 – Aggravated Murder” and “Article 145 – Aggravated assault (serious bodily harm)” recognise the additional reprehension associated with the racist motivation (Ibidem).
In light of this, Bertil Cottier has noted that “few cases are reported and prosecuted in the end”, shedding light on the inadequacy of the “legal-penal framework [...] to identify the crime, often opting for other types of legal frameworks to proceed with actions” (MadreMedia & Lusa, 2024).
Moreover, from 2020 to 2024, the Public Prosecutor’s Office opened 792 inquiries into hate crimes (we can only wonder what the real number of cases that deserved judicial action but never made it is). Of the 792 inquiries, only 14 processes were pressed charges (less than 2% of the cases).
Made by the author (with data from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, n.d.-b and Lusa (2024a))
What Made Portugal Hell on Earth for Non-European Immigrants?
Many reasons could be presented, SOS Racismo - the leading Portuguese anti-racist organisation - made a brilliant analysis, which I cite:
“Legitimized by the hate speech of the far right and by populist and racist narratives and speeches from high-ranking political officials, who have been making false associations between crime and immigration, providing the necessary fuel to feed violence against immigrants and legitimize racist and xenophobic militias.
The state's passivity in combating racism and xenophobia is evident in the chronic problems of the Justice system in this area, compounded by the inoperability of the Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination, which has not been functioning since October 2023. Up until that date, there had been few meetings of its bodies and very few convictions, despite the high number of complaints presented daily”. (S.O.S. Admin, 2024)
From their statement — the increase of the far right, legitimation of hatred, inadequate legislative framework, and state passivity provide the rationale for our question.
The increase of the far-right has been a widely debated topic. Portugal seemed immune for long; however, that has come to an end with the election of 50 far-right deputies to the Portuguese Parliament last March.
In the rising process of CHEGA, André Ventura - the party’s leader - has been in the spotlight on many media channels, from state television to social media such as TikTok. The normalisation of its speech - very present in the quotidian of the Portuguese political scene - as well as the legitimisation of its populist rhetoric from high-ranked officials from main parties, has significantly contributed to this rise.
As explored in a previous article, the racist and xenophobic ideals seeded in part of the Portuguese population meet all the characteristics they needed to blossom under André Ventura’s leadership (Moreira, 2024). Even though it is a fact that some have extensively publicly demonstrated their despise, others have always had a fear of expressing their minds.
When you observe the regularisation of these behaviours, the dangerous process of “othering” racialised bodies allied to xenophobia, toxic masculinities and hyper-nationalism, the state of fear (slowly) vanishes into thin air and ultimately culminates in various brutal attacks. The violent assaults described above had clear ties with far-right groups and movements, clarifying the threat posed to the country’s responsibility of protecting immigrants.
Seeds of hope
Despite the negative picture painted in the article—crucial to catching the attention and demanding change—it is essential to acknowledge some seeds of hope and the majority of people who share a broad sense of hospitality, inclusion, and respect.
In April 2024, a few people gathered in Porto for an anti-immigration protest organised by “Grupo 1143” - a neonazi group - had from the national anthem to “chants of "we've made it through" [...], in reference to the "they shall not pass" slogan of the anti-fascist protesters” (Cortez, 2024). 350 meters apart was an anti-fascist protest (DN/Lusa, 2024) that gathered a mass that chanted at the top of their lungs, “Grândola Vila Morena” (one of the slogans of the movement to overthrow the Salazarist dictatorship on April 25, 1974).
This same episode was seen months prior in Praça Martim Moniz in Lisbon, which is known (and attacked) for its multiculturality. The same group (1143) organized a protest against the “Islamisation of Europe” that gathered around 100 racists and was opposed by a crowd gathered for a Multicultural Arraial (Ribeiro et al., 2024).
Despite this vivid support, it is essential to recognise that the current legislative framework and the State’s passiveness in dealing with hate crimes with racial bias has concrete and lethal consequences for many.
To conclude, I would like to remember a recent episode from the 6th of June. During the CHEGA’s European Elections campaign, an immigrant directed some words to the party. In the video - which was adulterated by CHEGA but has previously circulated social platforms - it is clear the desperation in the voice of an immigrant that “has everything legal, has a legal visa” and “does everything right”, but “André Ventura persists as a racist” (SIC Notícias et al., 2024). He later elaborated that he had taken his daughter, born and raised in Portugal, to his home country, Bangladesh, with fear of the increased racist assaults.
Many share his agony, an unfortunate illustration of the consequences for the lives of many thousands. Until when Portugal? When will we allow, normalise and ignore the racist bias and motivations exerted by many against immigrants? When will we say “Chega” (Enough)?!
References:
Amado, C. (2023, February 4). Num mês, grupo de jovens de Olhão agrediu 15 imigrantes. PÚBLICO. https://www.publico.pt/2023/02/04/sociedade/noticia/psp-investiga-agressoes-imigrante-olhao-apos-partilha-video-redes-sociais-2037651
Carvalho, R. P. (2023, January 10). Um dos militares da GNR acusados de torturar imigrantes em Odemira condenado a seis anos de prisão efetiva. Restantes com penas suspensas. Observador. https://observador.pt/2023/01/10/um-dos-militares-da-gnr-acusados-de-torturar-imigrantes-condenado-a-seis-anos-de-prisao/
Cortez, I. (2024, April 6). Confrontos no Porto em manifestação anti-imigração. Observador. https://observador.pt/2024/04/06/confrontos-no-porto-em-manifestacao-anti-imigracao/
DN/Lusa. (2024, April 2). Manifestações anti-imigração e antifascista a 350 metros de distância no Porto. Diário de Notícias. https://www.dn.pt/8482725646/manifestacoes-anti-imigracao-e-antifascista-a-350-metros-de-distancia-no-porto/
Expresso. (2024, January 3). Casal de brasileiros foi agredido por grupo de dez jovens no Cais de Gaia. Expresso. https://expresso.pt/revista-de-imprensa/2024-01-03-Casal-de-brasileiros-foi-agredido-por-grupo-de-dez-jovens-no-Cais-de-Gaia-a27c18f1
Lusa. (2024a, February 9). Crimes de ódio em Portugal subiram 38% em 2023. PÚBLICO. https://www.publico.pt/2024/02/09/sociedade/noticia/crimes-odio-portugal-subiram-38-2023-2079931
Lusa. (2024b, March 19). Cabo-verdiano agredido junto a discoteca no Faial acabou por morrer. PÚBLICO. https://www.publico.pt/2024/03/19/sociedade/noticia/caboverdiano-agredido-junto-discoteca-faial-acabou-morrer-2084120
Lusa. (2024c, May 4). Presidente da República condena “ataques racistas” contra imigrantes no Porto. PÚBLICO. https://www.publico.pt/2024/05/04/sociedade/noticia/presidente-republica-condena-ataques-racistas-imigrantes-porto-2089250
MadreMedia, & Lusa. (2024, May 30). Europa preocupada com crescimento do racismo em Portugal e com problemas na punição dos crimes de ódio. SAPO 24. https://24.sapo.pt/atualidade/artigos/europa-preocupada-com-crescimento-do-racismo-em-portugal-e-com-problemas-na-punicao-dos-crimes-de-odio
Matos, R. (2023, December 9). Imigrante indiano foi executado em Setúbal por motivação racista. Jornal de Notícias. https://www.jn.pt/1351386344/imigrante-indiano-foi-executado-em-setubal-por-motivacao-racista/
Moreira, É. (2024, March 20). “25 de Abril Sempre, Fascismo nunca mais”? The wrong (right) turn on the 50th Anniversary of the end of the Portuguese Dictatorship. Politics4Her. https://www.politics4her.com/blog/swpzb7xmyk3rd206u7sx2km7i1u78d
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. (n.d.-a). Hate crime legislation in Portugal | HCRW. Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe. Retrieved 8 June 2024, from https://hatecrime.osce.org/hate-crime-legislation-portugal
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. (n.d.-b). Portugal | HCRW. Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe. Retrieved 8 June 2024, from https://hatecrime.osce.org/portugal
Ribeiro, M., Euronews, & Agências. (2024, February 4). Duas manifestações completamente opostas tomam as ruas de Lisboa. euronews. https://pt.euronews.com/2024/02/04/duas-manifestacoes-completamente-opostas-tomam-as-ruas-de-lisboa
Santos, R., & Roque, S. (2021). The populist far-right and the intersection of antiimmigration and antifeminist agendas: The Portuguese case. DiGeSt - Journal of Diversity and Gender Studies, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.21825/digest.v8i1.16958
SIC Notícias, Guedes, A., Mayor, J. S., Barreto, F., & Paixão, V. (2024, June 6). Líder do Chega é interpelado por imigrante durante ação de campanha: ‘Ele [Ventura] é sempre racista’. SIC Notícias. https://sicnoticias.pt/especiais/europeias-2024/2024-06-06-video-lider-do-chega-e-interpelado-por-imigrante-durante-acao-de-campanha-ele-ventura-e-sempre-racista--f6d7bf18
S.O.S. Admin, S. O. S. (2024, May 4). COMUNICADO Grupos racistas e xenófobos organizam ataques a imigrantes no Porto. SOS Racismo. https://www.sosracismo.pt/geral/comunicado-grupos-racistas-e-xenofobos-organizam-ataques-a-imigrantes-no-porto
Tavares-Teles, A. (2023, December 24). A rua onde morreu o indiano Gurpreet Singh. Diário de Notícias. https://www.dn.pt/sociedade/a-rua-onde-morreu-gurpreet-17551829.html/
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Franco, H. (2024, May 6). Extrema-direita portuguesa tem contactos com grupos terroristas neonazis: Um dos atacantes no Porto era do Grupo 1143. Expresso. https://expresso.pt/sociedade/seguranca/2024-05-06-extrema-direita-portuguesa-tem-contactos-com-grupos-terroristas-neonazis-um-dos-atacantes-no-porto-era-do-grupo-1143-d9a23169)
About the author:
Érica Moreira graduated from the University of Coimbra with a bachelor’s in International Relations. She is a Master’s student at Sciences Po Paris in International Governance and Diplomacy, specialising in Migration and Diplomacy. Érica is a Programme Intern at Africa Legal Aid and serves as a Youth Ambassador for Vila Nova de Gaia. Additionally, she is an Outreach and Partnerships and Research Officer at Politics4Her Europe Hub and an activist at Amnesty International Portugal. Her academic interests centre around migration, human rights, and women’s rights.
