Protesters demanding affordable homes remained camped in central Lisbon and Porto today after yesterday’s demonstrations against rising living costs, with some already planning how to combine their working week with staying on the streets.
Tents and sleeping bags filled Lisbon’s Rossio and Porto’s Praça D. João I as housing campaigners vowed to maintain pressure on the government.
Their demands include abandoning the rental law reform approved at parliamentary committee stage by right-wing parties, expanding public housing and stopping evictions of people who have nowhere else to go.
“They want us on the streets; on the streets they will see us,” demonstrators chanted in Lisbon, where thousands gathered yesterday and placards took aim at prime minister Luís Montenegro.
By this morning, the practicalities of sustaining the protest were coming into focus: feeding people, organising cleaning teams and deciding how to keep the camps going when participants return to work.
Bruno, a 30-year-old computer engineer helping organise the Lisbon protest, told Lusa that working remotely would allow him to stay.
Others face a more difficult balancing act. But his message was firm: “We’re here to stay.”
Even with a good salary, Bruno said he considered himself fortunate to have found somewhere to rent — without a tenancy contract.
“All of this is unjust. Very unjust,” he said.
Nearby, Pedro Lourenço, 26, who still lives with his parents in Mafra, was interviewing passing tourists for social media, hoping to explain the campaign beyond its immediate supporters.
Some offered solidarity; others told protesters to get a job. But conversations could change minds, he told Lusa. “We just want the right to a fair life.”
In Porto, hundreds spent the night in Praça D. João I after tents returned to the square. Campaign spokesperson Pedro Lopes described the atmosphere as peaceful and sociable, with growing participation and much of the night devoted to organising the movement.
A burning rubbish container briefly interrupted proceedings. Campaigners denied responsibility, attributing the incident to agitators. The fire was quickly extinguished, and no further incidents or clashes were reported overnight in either city.
By this morning, volunteers in Porto were collecting cigarette ends, separating rubbish and washing the square.
Tiago Tomé, working with a mop after four hours’ sleep, said bottles and cans were also being collected to raise money for food.
Keeping the square clean serves another purpose, volunteers explained: preventing the council from using cleaning requirements as a reason to remove the tents.
A dispute over dialogue with Porto mayor Pedro Duarte remains unresolved. Duarte told TSF he had publicly invited campaigners to a meeting at city hall, but would not attend a popular assembly in the square. The movement’s lawyer says no invitation has been received.
Housing campaigners plan further assemblies today to decide their next steps – including whether to remain into Monday.
Meanwhile, the CGTP trade union confederation, which also demonstrated against rising living costs yesterday, has announced another protest outside parliament on November 24.
For those still in the squares, the immediate question is how to turn a weekend’s mobilisation into sustained pressure.
Sources: CNN Portugal/ SIC Notícias/ Lusa