José Manuel Coelho

{{short description|Portuguese politician}}

{{Portuguese name|Mata|Vieira Coelho}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = José Manuel Coelho

| honorific-suffix =

| image = José Manuel Coelho (rotated and cropped).jpg

| image_size = 250px

| image_caption =

| office = Member of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira

| term_start = 23 April 2008

| term_end = 2 May 2018

| birth_name = José Manuel da Mata Vieira Coelho

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1952|7|22|df=y}}

| birth_place = Gaula, Santa Cruz, Madeira, Portugal

| nationality = Portuguese

| party = Portuguese Labour Party (2011–present)

| otherparty = Portuguese Communist Party (1977–2007)
New Democracy Party
(2007–2011)

| spouse =

| children = 2

| profession = Construction worker

| website =

| signature =

}}

José Manuel da Mata Vieira Coelho (born 22 July 1952) is a Portuguese politician. He was a member of the Portuguese Communist Party until 1999, and still calls himself a communist "who evolved".Maria Teresa Oliveira (8 January 2011). [http://www.sol.pt/noticia/8727 Política - 'Andam a arranjar tachos até para as amantes']. Sol. Retrieved 26 October 2017. He was a substitute deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira for the New Democracy Party, taking office in 2008. He became famous for the incident in which he showed a Nazi flag to the assembly as a protest against the Social Democratic Party refusing to commemorate the Carnation Revolution,{{cite news |author=Staff writer |date=5 November 2008 |title=Deputado do PND exibe bandeira nazi e chama "fascistas" aos sociais-democratas |url=https://expresso.sapo.pt/actualidade/deputado-do-pnd-exibe-bandeira-nazi-e-chama-fascistas-aos-sociais-democratas=f445166 |format=Online |work=expresso.pt |location=Lisbon |publisher=Expresso |language=Portuguese |access-date=26 October 2017 |archive-date=18 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518101834/http://expresso.sapo.pt/actualidade/deputado-do-pnd-exibe-bandeira-nazi-e-chama-fascistas-aos-sociais-democratas=f445166 |url-status=dead }} among several other episodes as well.{{cite web|title=José Manuel Coelho: "Excessos necessários" / Pedro Fernandes / 5 Para a Meia-Noite |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip9Z-gznOL4 |via=YouTube |publisher=5 Para a Meia-Noite |language=Portuguese |format=Video |date=11 May 2012}}

Coelho was the New Democracy's candidate to the presidency in the 2011 election.{{cite news |title=José Manuel Coelho é o novo candidato à Presidência |author=Lília Bernardes |url=https://www.dn.pt/inicio/portugal/interior.aspx?content_id=1744697 |newspaper=Diário de Notícias |date=29 December 2010 |access-date=24 June 2011 |language=pt |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928001303/http://www.dn.pt/inicio/portugal/interior.aspx?content_id=1744697 |archivedate=28 September 2011}} He won 4.5% of the vote, coming fifth, which was considerably better than expected or forecast by pre-election polling. In Madeira, Coelho reached second place, with 39% of the votes.

On 12 March 2011, he joined the Portuguese Labour Party (PTP),{{cite news |author=Staff writer |date=12 March 2011 |title=PCP e Bloco de Esquerda serão os meus aliados preferenciais – José Manuel Coelho |url=https://www.dn.pt/Inicio/interior.aspx?content_id=1804537 |newspaper=Diário de Notícias |language=Portuguese |access-date=24 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928001313/http://www.dn.pt/Inicio/interior.aspx?content_id=1804537 |archivedate=28 September 2011}} of which he became the vice-president.{{cite news |author=Staff writer |date=30 April 2011 |title=José Manuel Coelho quer "varrer deputados corruptos" da AR |url=https://www.publico.pt/2011/04/30/politica/noticia/jose-manuel-coelho-quer-varrer-deputados-corruptos-da-ar-1492033 |newspaper=Público |language=Portuguese |access-date=24 June 2011}} He was a candidate for the 2011 legislative election but, as the PTP only got 0.3% of the vote, he failed to achieve his election in the constituency of Madeira, having been unsuccessful once again in 2015.

In February 2017, José Manuel Coelho asked for political asylum in the Principality of Pontinha, which was granted by D. Renato Barros I.

{{cite web

| author = Lisbon: Diário de Notícias

| date = 6 February 2017

| url = http://www.dnoticias.pt/madeira/video-mostra-como-coelho-pediu-asilo-politico-ao-principado-da-pontinha-para-escapar-a-prisao-HN870966

| title = Vídeo mostra como Coelho pediu asilo político ao principado da Pontinha para escapar à prisão

| language = Portuguese

| location = Funchal

| publisher = Diário de Notícias

| access-date = 8 February 2017}}