Portuguese conservatives and opponents of the woke agenda won a major victory this week as President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa vetoed a last-minute legal package that would have allowed parents to choose ‘gender-neutral’ names for their children. The Left is in uproar.
Just as Portugal embarked on an unprecedented, three-way election campaign that might see the national-conservative Chega! party rise to second place, the Left was busy using its crumbling parliamentary majority to codify a number of ‘gender ideology’-inspired provisions. The new legislation, which was approved by parliament after it had been dissolved by President Rebelo de Sousa, would have allowed citizens to register ‘non-male and non-female names.’ Another bill known as the ‘gender identity self-determination law’ would open the way for ‘mixed’ bathrooms and locker rooms for school-age children. The proposals earned stiff opposition from civil society, with a petition against them drawing over 50,000 signatures in a few weeks.
The presidential veto now means the survival of the legislation will be decided after the upcoming election, which the Right is widely expected to win. Faced with the prospect of it being dropped by the next parliament, left-wing groups and activists have reacted to the news with dismay. Socialist MP Isabel Moreira, one of her party’s most vocal supporters of woke politics, has accused the president of legitimising the notion that ‘trans[sexual] rights are a threat’ and, thus, of benefiting the ‘ultra-right agenda.’
Conservative celebration—just as Moreira’s fury—might, however, be premature. Both the pro-market, socially progressive Liberal Initiative and the centre-right Social Democrats voted in favour of allowing ‘gender-neutral’ names, with Chega! being the sole parliamentary force to oppose the notion altogether. The likelihood of at least some of the measures still securing approval is, thus, substantial.
Teachers, schools, and conservative figures reacted with relief to the presidential decision. The chairman of ANDE, the National Association of School Leaders, told Catholic broadcaster Renascença that schools would simply be unable to comply with the requirements of the new law for ‘safe spaces for trans children.’ Thereza Ameal, who launched the petition opposing the legislation, has praised the president for “saying that the decree does not sufficiently respect the role of parents,” while Rita Maria Matias, a Chega! MP and rising star, warned against complacency. “When you vote, remember [that] a left-wing majority would again approve this law.”