The CGTP march in Lisbon

On Saturday, 17 October, thousands of people marched through central Lisbon in a demonstration called by the CGTP trade union federation. The route ran from Cais do Sodré to the Rossio, and it was the last of three marches the federation held that day, after events in Porto and Coimbra. The march had been called for 14:30, but it only left Cais do Sodré more than forty minutes later, and the walk of about one kilometre took the crowd over an hour. Delegations from the STAL union, including groups from Madeira and the Azores, and from Fenprof were among the participants. The march called for higher wages and pensions, better public services including the SNS and social security, and a response to rising living costs.

Union leader's demands on prices

Tiago Oliveira, the CGTP secretary-general, walked at the front of the march and accused the government of not understanding the difficulties facing workers. He called for prices to be capped and for interest rates to be capped as well, and said the executive led by the Democratic Alliance (PSD/CDS-PP) had offered no response. Oliveira also said large economic groups were posting the highest profits ever at the same time, which he argued showed the government's policy.

“We cannot have a policy that keeps conditioning the lives of all of us, those who have the least.”

Tent camp at the Rossio

After the march ended, around 17:00, a camp began at the Rossio under the name 'Não dá mais? Então monta a tua tenda!', focused on housing policy. By 17:30 the first tents were already pitched. Participants held up their keys in a 'chaveiraço', and placards and chants targeted Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, including references to 55 properties linked to him. Protesters also objected to his recent remarks about the alleged selfishness of some mobilisations.

A participant who did not give her full name criticised the police, describing the helmets, visors, pepper spray, batons and steel-toed boots used by officers in Porto, where a police intervention against housing protesters had drawn criticism. Her remarks sat alongside the camp's wider message that housing is a right and not a business.

Police presence and next steps

Police were visible around the square, but until about 19:00 the gathering passed without any reported police intervention. Tents and participants kept arriving, and the protest was expected to continue into the night or for the coming days, with the camp described as open-ended.