A batota acabou; portanto continuámos.

Yes. Batota is a common European Portuguese word meaning cheating, dishonest play, or breaking the rules unfairly.

A very common expression is:

• fazer batota = to cheat

It is normal, everyday Portuguese in Portugal, and it sounds more natural there than in many other Portuguese-speaking varieties.

A is the feminine singular definite article, so here it means the.

Portuguese uses definite articles more often than English, including with abstract nouns. So A batota acabou is literally The cheating ended, even though English might sometimes just say Cheating stopped.

It also suggests that the speaker is referring to a specific cheating situation already understood in context.

Because batota is simply a feminine noun in Portuguese. Grammatical gender does not always match any logical meaning; it is just part of the word.

So you get:

• a batota
• muita batota
• a batota acabou

A learner mainly needs to remember the noun together with its article: a batota.

Acabou is the pretérito perfeito simples of acabar, third person singular.

Here it means that the action is seen as completed in the past: the cheating ended / came to an end.

Because the subject is a batota, which is singular, the verb is singular too:

• A batota acabou

Because acabar can work intransitively, meaning to end or to come to an end.

So:

• A batota acabou = The cheating ended

This is more natural than using a passive structure here. A passive like foi acabada would sound much less normal in this sentence.

It is built into the verb.

Portuguese often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb ending already makes the person clear. In continuámos, the ending shows we.

So:

• continuámos = we continued

You could say nós continuámos, but nós is not necessary unless you want emphasis or contrast.

Continuámos is the pretérito perfeito simples, first person plural, of continuar.

So it means:

• we continued

The accent in continuámos shows the stressed syllable and helps distinguish it from continuamos, which can be present tense:

• continuámos = we continued
• continuamos = we continue

This distinction is especially important in European Portuguese spelling.

Portanto is a connector meaning therefore, so, or thus.

It shows a result or conclusion:

• the cheating ended
• therefore, we continued

It is a perfectly normal linking word and is a little more formal or structured than a very casual então in some contexts.

The semicolon links two closely related independent clauses:

• A batota acabou
• portanto continuámos

It is stronger than a comma but weaker than a full stop. It works well when the second clause is a consequence of the first.

You could also find other punctuation in similar sentences, depending on style, for example:

• A batota acabou, portanto continuámos.
• A batota acabou. Portanto, continuámos.

The semicolon is just a neat, clear written choice.

No. Portanto is fairly flexible.

This sentence is natural:

• A batota acabou; portanto continuámos.

But you could also say:

• A batota acabou; continuámos, portanto.
• Portanto, continuámos.

The original version is straightforward and natural, especially in writing.

Yes, it feels very European Portuguese, especially because of batota, which is strongly associated with Portugal.

A speaker from Brazil would understand it, but might be more likely to use different words depending on context, such as trapaça, cola, or another expression.

So for a learner of Portuguese from Portugal, this sentence is very useful and natural.