Portugal housing protests continue after police clear camps
Thousands rallied in Lisbon, Porto and other Portuguese cities on Tuesday evening, hours after police cleared protest camps and arrested 55 people. Activists vowed to continue their campaign against the housing crisis.
Thousands of people gathered in Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, as well as in Porto and other cities on Tuesday evening to protest against the country's housing crisis. The rallies came hours after police dismantled protest tent camps and detained a total of 55 demonstrators. Participants pledged to keep up their campaign against a crisis that has made buying or renting a home increasingly unaffordable.
Organizers said more than 1,000 people turned out at each of the two main protest sites. Police gave no crowd estimates. In Lisbon's central Rossio square, demonstrators voted by a show of hands to set up their camp again on Wednesday.
The police operation
Police began coordinated operations in both cities shortly before 6 a.m., after warning that the camps were illegal. In Lisbon, activists had occupied Rossio square since Saturday with around 200 tents. In Porto, a camp had stood in Dom Joao I square for about 10 days. Authorities seized 228 camping structures overall.
In Porto, demonstrators took down their tents themselves after police threatened to step in. In Lisbon, officers cleared the square while protesters formed a human chain. Footage shown by local television stations indicated that clashes followed. Carla Valadao, spokesperson for the Lisbon camp, called the operation "very aggressive." Public Security Police superintendent Sergio Soares rejected that description, saying the eviction was "calm, proportionate and appropriate, with no police charge." All 55 people arrested were later released pending a court appearance in Lisbon on Wednesday.
Background to the crisis
Portugal faces one of Europe's most severe housing affordability crises. Purchase prices have more than doubled since 2017, while rents on new leases have almost doubled. Residents of Lisbon and Porto have also protested against excessive tourism and an influx of so-called digital nomads.
Protesters accuse the center-right government of failing to tackle the problem. They demand the withdrawal of a bill that would make evictions easier and scrap rent caps on new leases. The bill has already passed its first reading in parliament.
Wider European unrest
Portuguese activists are seeking to link their movement with similar protests in neighboring Spain, where campaigners maintain a tent camp in Madrid and call for stronger action on housing. Nearly four weeks of protests in Spain have fed political turmoil, and a snap general election has been called for November 29. Demonstrations over living costs have also been held in France, Belgium and Italy.
