António Pedro Santos / Lusa
Marques Mendes earned around 709 thousand euros net in two years as an “external consultant” for the giant Abreu Advogados, with which he maintains a connection. “You have to realize that you can’t push this problem into the corner.”
One of the big favorites to win the 2026 Presidential Elections, Luís Marques Mendes still does not explain how he won, exactly, around 709 thousand euros net in two years as an “external consultant” of one of the largest law firms in Portugal, and this lack of explanation could begin to harm his campaign in the race for the Presidency of the Republic.
Confronted by the magazine, the candidate for Belém supported by the PSD and CDS-PP once again did not want to reveal how he earned this money in Abreu Advogados in 2023 and 2024. He only clarified one thing: that he is “disconnected” from any type of work related to Angola, that he has no interests in the country and that he “never had a single client” there.
According to published figures, Marques Mendes received €413,247.58 net in 2023 and €296,309.37 in 2024, paid by Abreu Advogados. The relationship is presented as that of “external consultant”.
Asked about what he did to justify these amounts and whether the work involved attracting clients or taking steps with public decision-makers, Marques Mendes sent answers to the law firm. “These are questions that only Abreu Advogados can answer, if it chooses to do so,” the candidate told the magazine. Abreu, in turn, said it does not comment on employee remuneration or matters covered by professional secrecy.
In the sector, the figure of the external consultant is often associated with business development tasks: opening doors, attracting clients, creating bridges between companies and specialized legal services, and facilitating contacts in contexts where knowledge of institutional circuits makes a difference, explains a Sábado source, partner of a large Portuguese law firm. Marques Mendes’ remuneration may be linked to a percentage of the revenue generated, he admits.
And this is not illegal. In projects of this type, explains the magazine, a phone call, a meeting or a simple procedural release can represent a lot of money. But where does the line be drawn between influence and favoritism?
Marques Mendes reportedly clarified that he suspended his registration with the Bar Association before his candidacy, preventing him from carrying out legal acts. But maintains a connection to Abreu: on the firm’s website, a page dedicated to your profile allows you to directly contact Luís Marques Mendesthrough two different telephone numbers associated with you, FaceTime or Abreu Advogados work email.
The same page states that Marques Mendes “is a member of the Advisory Board of Abreu Advogados” and “a consultant at Abreu Advogados since 2012”, as well as “President of the Strategic Board”.
Even if this presence is merely institutional or networking, the coexistence of a presidential candidacy with a paid or recent connection to a legal giant raises questions of prudence.
The family business and its customers
Marques Mendes also does not comment on the clients of the family company through which he received payments for his television comments. After offering to reveal these clients in an interview with , the candidate promised to send the list to Sábado, but did not do so. Despite this, the investigation identified at least one client: the construction company Alberto Couto Alves, with consultancy contracts signed with the company LS2MM.
A contract, dated January 2020, provides for the provision of services for four years, with remuneration of five thousand euros per month, plus VAT; a second contract maintains the same monthly value.
Marques Mendes confirmed to Sábado the existence of these contracts and characterized the work as non-legal consultancy, based on analyzes of the national and international context from the perspective of an investor, with a focus on the internationalization of the group. He added: “he was not the only one for whom I did the same type of analysis.”
The examples Siza Vieira and Cavaco Silva
As Minister of Economy, Pedro Siza Vieira was forced to request an excuse from intervening in the electricity sector due to previous professional connections to a company associated with relevant operations in this field. It is an example of how, even without criminal guilt, public perception can show a conflict of interests, points out the magazine.
Commentator Miguel Morgado, who has worked with Marques Mendes, places him, at SIC Notícias, in “purgatory” due to this matter.
“Marques Mendes has to be careful: his opponents are increasingly raising the issue of his professional past and the businesses in which he was involved”, begins by saying Miguel Morgado.
“He and I were members of Cavaco Silva’s political committee in his re-election in 2010”, recalls the commentator. “In that campaign they said: ‘I’m more than winning, 60 or so percent in the polls, this is going to be a walk in the park!’. It was all true”, recalls Morgado — “until the “.
“From then on, Cavaco Silva’s campaign changed completely and he didn’t win with 65% or 60%. Therefore, Marques Mendes has to realize that he cannot brush this problem aside, he has to give whatever explanations are necessary and there are many explanations he has to give”, concludes the former PSD deputy.
