Lisbon housing protest camp votes to leave Rossio square after court ruling

The assembly decision

The housing protest camp in Lisbon's Rossio square decided on Monday, 9 November, to take its tents down. The vote came at an assembly that began at 19:00 on the second floor of Rossio station. It followed a decision by the Lisbon Administrative Court to suspend its earlier ruling, which had allowed activist Renata Cambra to camp in the square until 24 November. The camp also agreed to decentralise its fight for the right to housing, starting with a protest at the Web Summit on Wednesday, 11 November. Cambra had already removed her own tent from Praça D. Pedro IV on Saturday, 7 November.

Court suspension and the appeal

The Lisbon Administrative Court gave suspensive effect to its own decision, so Cambra's authorisation stays on hold until the Constitutional Court rules on an appeal filed by the Public Prosecutor's Office. That appeal challenges the constitutionality of a 00:30 time limit on protests. The Ministry of Internal Administration, led by Luís Neves, has said the original ruling covered only "an individual and concrete situation" tied to Cambra's request. A precautionary measure was also filed, which SIC reports prevents police from intervening in the coming hours. In a note to SIC, Cambra's lawyer, Leonor Caldeira, said the ministry had told the court it would comply with the decision.

Divisions inside the camp

The camp is not unanimous on leaving. SAPO reported that about 70 tents remain on the square. At an earlier plenary, Cambra proposed removing the tents overnight and reassessing the site by Wednesday, 11 November, but the proposal did not win enough support, as participants feared a police operation. The camp's spokesperson, Adriana Lima, described the latest vote.

“The vote produced a technical tie on whether to keep or remove the tents, but when the question was put differently, continuing at Rossio was approved by a majority.”

Cambra told reporters on Sunday that leaving Rossio would be a good strategy and that the struggle has several forms, including the protests already set for 14 and 21 November. She also argued for a closer protest during the budget vote.

“I think it is important that in the period from 21 to 24 we are as close as possible to the Assembly of the Republic.”

Merchants and the Christmas market

The city council wants to install the Christmas market on Rossio and has asked the camp to vacate the square. It offered three alternative sites: Restauradores, Largo de São Domingos and Martim Moniz. Cambra contested the removal order and asked the court to annul it, arguing that the council must justify its decision. Mayor Carlos Moedas had repeatedly threatened to use the municipal police to remove the tents. On Monday morning, merchants met Moedas at city hall, and he promised a solution in the coming days. Merchants complain that the protest has cut their takings by about 30%. The union of trade and service associations' vice-president, Jorge Nuno Sá, said:

“We have members who say they are invoicing 20% less than usual, and we know that since the pandemic, trade has been hanging by a thread.”

The union called on protesters to show common sense.

What comes next

The Constitutional Court must still decide the prosecutors' appeal, and Cambra's authorisation remains suspended until then. Protesters have a demonstration at the Web Summit on Wednesday, 11 November, and further protests are set for 14 and 21 November. The timeline below sets out the dates named so far in the reporting.

The Christmas market plan for Rossio has no opening date in the sources, and the camp's own future location will depend on the assembly's next decisions.