Dataset on Parties' Use of Populist Rhetoric in Portugal During the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020–2021)

This dataset was created as part of the Study on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal (2020–2022), funded by the Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos. It explores the use of populist rhetoric in Portuguese parliamentary debates during the pandemic, providing insights into the evolving dynamics of populist discourse under crisis conditions.

Covering debates held in the Assembleia da República between October 2019 and April 2021, the dataset includes 6214 paragraphs from 59 sessions. The analysis focuses on four dimensions of populism: people-centrism, anti-elitism, popular sovereignty, and exclusionism. These dimensions capture core elements of populist rhetoric, such as appeals to "the people," critiques of elites, demands for greater popular power, and the construction of out-groups.