Left parties and Chega criticise President Seguro over vague response to police charges

Seguro breaks his silence

President António José Seguro addressed the country on Tuesday, 27 October, for the first time since police charged housing protesters in the early hours of Sunday, 25 October. Speaking in the morning, he said Portugal has a culture of dialogue rather than violence and told political parties to reach an understanding to solve the problem. He said he did not like the images he had seen of the police action and that he was waiting for the results of the inquiries into how officers acted. The statement came after a long silence from the head of state, and it landed in a sharp political debate that reached parliament within hours.

The charges hit protests over housing in both Lisbon and Porto. In Lisbon, the police action affected an encampment that protesters had set up to demand action on housing.

The left says the response was too vague

Fabian Figueiredo, the Left Bloc's sole member of parliament, said the police intervention was illegal and disproportionate and that the government was to blame. He argued that the president speaks in an abstract and vague way when he defends constitutional principles, and he criticised the silence and absence of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro. Figueiredo also said that his own vote and those of others in the second round of the presidential election had gone to Seguro so that he would defend the Constitution.

“The intervention was illegal, it was disproportionate, it does not follow any legal criterion and the blame lies with the Government.”

Isabel Mendes Lopes, spokesperson and parliamentary leader of Livre, called the president's statement somewhat cautious on a subject that needs an immediate word to the country. She said the government had shown arrogance by not listening to proposals on housing put forward by several parties. She also argued that the president should have reacted as soon as the events happened.

“We are talking about police violence that seems to me completely unjustifiable, and all political leaders have to take a position.”

The Communist Party (PCP) refused to reach agreements with parties that want to increase rents further, placing it at odds with the rest of the debate on the housing crisis.

Chega presses the president on the rent law

André Ventura, leader of Chega, told reporters at parliament that the president had not left a clear message of support for the police or for the law. He argued that the police action was justified because protesters were not complying with the rules on demonstrations, and that officers were also victims of the cost of housing and living.

“I deeply regret that the President has not left a clear message of support, either for the law or for those ensuring compliance with it.”

Ventura also questioned what dialogue Seguro wanted from Chega. He asked whether Chega should let rent increases pass without any control, and whether it should let rental deposits, known as cauções, rise without limits. He said rents should have limited updates, as the law already provides, and warned that uncontrolled increases would bring steep rises. Chega wants limits on deposits, one of the points covered by its agreement with the PSD.

What comes next

The inquiries into how officers acted during the charges are still pending, and the president has said he is waiting for their results. The debate has split along familiar lines. The left wants the government held to account and a more forceful position from the president, while Chega defends the police and wants limits written into the rent law.