Persona: Roma Community Member

Sérgio Monteiro

Quick Profile

Attribute	Value
Name	Sérgio Monteiro
Age	38
Gender	Male
Location	Beja (Alentejo)
Occupation	Market trader (feiras) / occasional construction
Education	6th grade (left school to work with family)
Housing	Social housing apartment (relocated from informal settlement 2018)
Family	Married to Rosa (35), four children (15, 12, 9, 6), extended family nearby
Voter Status	Portuguese citizen - CAN vote

Background Narrative

Sérgio's family has been in Portugal for generations—longer than most Portuguese can trace their own lineage. But being Roma (Cigano in Portuguese) means being permanently "other." His grandparents lived in caravans; his parents were pushed to informal settlements; he was relocated to social housing that feels like a ghetto by design.

He grew up with the looks, the muttered comments, the shop owners watching him. His children experience the same. His daughter is the brightest in her class—her teacher told him she could go to university. What university would want a Cigana? What employer would hire her? The ceiling is visible from birth.

The Chega phenomenon terrifies him. Ventura's rhetoric about Roma isn't subtle—he's called for their "integration or expulsion," linked them to crime, made them convenient scapegoats. For Sérgio, every Chega vote is a message: you don't belong here. The country your family has lived in for five centuries doesn't want you.

He sells at weekly markets—household goods, textiles, whatever moves. It's traditional Roma work, increasingly squeezed by supermarkets and regulation. The informal economy sustained his parents; formalization is making it impossible. Construction work when markets are slow, but employers are reluctant to hire Ciganos.

Family is everything. His extended family spans multiple towns, connected by marriage and blood, supporting each other through what gadjos (non-Roma) never understand. When his son needs dental work, the family collects. When his cousin is in trouble, everyone appears. This network is survival, and it's also what gadjos see as "clannishness" that justifies exclusion.

Economic Situation

Aspect	Detail
Income level	Low (€600-800/month, variable)
Income source	Market trading (informal), occasional construction
Financial stress	High (inconsistent income, large family)
Housing cost burden	Subsidized housing (€120/month)
Economic trajectory	Precarious (traditional livelihood dying)

Values Profile (Schwartz Framework)

Dimension	Rating	Expression
Self-Transcendence	4	Strong family/community bonds
Self-Enhancement	2	Survival over status
Openness to Change	2	Change has meant loss of livelihood
Conservation	5	Family, tradition, community paramount

Top 3 values: Tradition, Benevolence (family), Security

Moral Politics Frame (Lakoff)

Primary frame: Community-focused (outside Portuguese left-right)

Expression: Sérgio's politics aren't organized by gadjo categories. He thinks in terms of: Who threatens us? Who leaves us alone? Who might help? Politicians promise integration while making integration impossible; he trusts none of them.

Information Ecosystem

Source Type	Specific Sources	Trust Level
TV	SIC, TVI (primarily)	Medium
Online	Facebook, YouTube	Medium
Social Media	Facebook (Roma community groups), WhatsApp	High
Community	Extended family, Roma networks	Very High

Media consumption pattern: TV news when home. Facebook for community information and connection. Word-of-mouth through family networks is primary source. Distrusts media coverage of Roma (consistently negative/stereotyping).

Relationship to Portuguese Politics

Voting Status

Portuguese citizen with full voting rights
Often abstains—feels no party represents him
When votes, tends toward PS (traditional working-class affiliation)
Would never vote Chega—existential threat

Political Awareness

Acutely aware of Chega and Ventura (threat monitoring)
Otherwise low engagement—politics as gadjo concern
Knows politicians visit Roma settlements during elections, then disappear
Deep cynicism about political promises

Top Concerns (Ranked)

Chega's rise: "They talk about us like animals. What if they get power?"
Children's future: "Will my daughter face the same closed doors I did?"
Economic survival: "Markets are dying. What do we do next?"
Discrimination: "We're Portuguese. Five hundred years. Still treated as invaders."
Cultural preservation: "My kids need to know who they are. But the world punishes Roma identity."

Hopes

For his family:

"I want my children to have choices I didn't. University if they want it. Jobs that don't depend on weather and police permits. Respect."

For the Roma community:

"I want us to be seen as Portuguese. Not 'integrated'—we've been here forever. Just... Portuguese. Like everyone else. Without losing who we are."

For Portugal:

"I hope Portugal chooses better. Doesn't go the way of Hungary. Remembers that diversity isn't a threat."

Fears

Immediate fears:

"Chega in government. Police crackdowns. My children being targeted. The slow squeeze becoming a fast crush."

Long-term fears:

"That there's no place for us in the future. Not as market traders, not as Portuguese, not as anything. That we're relics they're waiting to disappear."

Deepest fear (often unspoken):

"That my children will be ashamed to be Roma. That they'll hide it to survive. That survival means erasure."

"In Their Own Voice"

How he'd describe being Roma in Portugal:

"We're the convenient scapegoat. Something goes wrong? Must be the Ciganos. Crime in the neighborhood? Must be the Ciganos. Property values down? Must be the Ciganos. Five hundred years in Portugal, and we're still blamed for everything and included in nothing. Chega didn't invent this—they just said it louder."

What he'd say to Portuguese who believe Chega's rhetoric:

"Do you know any Roma? Actually know, not just see at markets? We're families. Workers. Parents trying to do right by our children. We follow our traditions; you follow yours. Why is ours a problem? I pay taxes. My kids go to Portuguese schools. What more do you want—for us to disappear?"

On his children's future:

"My daughter is smart. Top of her class. But I've seen smart Roma kids before. The world closes doors. Teachers who assume the worst. Employers who won't call back. Other parents who don't want their children mixing. She can be the best and still hit the ceiling. That's what I fear most—watching her learn the limits of being Cigana."

Scenario Response Predictions

Candidate	Predicted Response	Key Trigger
Ventura	Extreme Opposition	Existential threat—mobilize against
Gouveia e Melo	Cautious	Unknown on Roma issues; military associations worry
Marques Mendes	Neutral-Negative	Traditional right hasn't helped; might enable Chega
Seguro	Neutral	PS has done little; but better than alternatives
Catarina Martins	Positive	BE has spoken against Roma discrimination
Cotrim Figueiredo	Neutral	Liberal on identity; but Roma not on radar
António Filipe	Neutral-Positive	PCP solidarity rhetoric; but old-fashioned

Notes for Scenario Development

Represents Portugal's oldest minority—500+ years
Chega as existential political threat
Economic squeeze on traditional livelihood
Education vs. discrimination tension for children
Strong family/community networks as survival mechanism
Could interact with: children's teachers, market customers, police, social workers, other Roma families, gadjo neighbors
In "Day in the Future" vignettes: market day, school meeting about daughter, watching Ventura on TV, family gathering, job rejection, police encounter