Protesters in Lisbon, Porto and Faro demand housing rights and a general strike

Marches in Lisbon and Porto

Protests for the right to housing took place on Saturday, 24 October, in Lisbon and Porto, called by the Acampada movement, which has staged protests and encampments in several Portuguese cities since 10 October. In Lisbon, the Public Security Police (PSP) closed traffic on Avenida da Liberdade so the march could proceed, with the route set to end at Rossio. In Porto, about 300 people gathered at Praça da Batalha for the 16:00 start, and the march was due to end at Praça D. João I, where a popular assembly was scheduled for 19:30 to decide whether to pitch tents there again. A PSP sub-intendant told Lusa that about 600 people had left Praça da Batalha, while Lusa reporters saw several hundred more join along the route.

Encampments cleared and the police response

The marches follow police operations that dismantled encampments in both cities. In Porto, the movement denounced a police charge in the early hours of 15 October that it said injured 39 demonstrators, two of them seriously, and one police officer, while other reports give 37 injured or about 40. In Lisbon, police removed dozens of tents from Rossio on Tuesday, 20 October, detained 55 people who are due before a judge on 27 October, and seized activists' belongings. The Lisbon Acampada decided at a popular assembly on Friday, 23 October, to pitch tents again after the march. In a communiqué, the PSP set out its approach to the protests:

“Our actions will continue to prioritise dialogue, communication and mediation with the demonstrators, in a logic of prevention and proportionate management of any incidents.”

The operation includes traffic units and rapid intervention teams, with reserves from the Special Police Unit on standby.

Demands and calls for a general strike

Protesters demand caps on rents, more public housing, the recovery of vacant buildings and an end to evictions without alternative housing. They also oppose a new tenancy law that is under detailed review in Parliament, and some call for price controls on essentials and fuel and taxes on extraordinary profits of large banks. Helena Roseta, the architect who authored the Housing Basic Law, joined the crowd in Lisbon. The secretary-general of CGTP-IN, Tiago Oliveira, who was on Avenida da Liberdade, said:

“All forms of struggle are on the table, but we have to build step by step, and a general strike cannot be built without guaranteeing its success.”

He said not every form of struggle means a general strike, and accused the government of being completely out of touch with reality.

Faro and wider reach

About 100 people marched 900 metres along Avenida 5 de Outubro in Faro, escorted by police, starting around 15:30 and ending at Praça da Liberdade. Chants targeted Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, and more than ten people used an open microphone afterwards to speak about debts, rent and the cost of living. Sebastião Florêncio, a member of the Faro Acampada organising group, told Lusa that this is the worst crisis since 25 April, and said:

“This is a case of calamity, this is an emergency that we have in our country.”

He said he counts himself lucky to have a home, but has no contract and has to leave for three months each summer, which is common in the Algarve. Protests are also under way in other European states, including Spain, France, Italy and Belgium.