Thousands Protest Outside Portugal’s Parliament Over Housing Situation

Thousands of protesters gathered outside Portugal’s Parliament in Lisbon on Oct. 27 to demand action over rising housing costs.

The protests echo demonstrations that began in neighboring Spain last month over similar complaints about unaffordable housing.

Several thousand mostly young people in their 20s and 30s gathered outside the Republican Assembly chanting, singing, and banging drums, while inside the building lawmakers debated the center-right government’s spending plans for next year.

The protest followed police operations that cleared housing-activist tent camps in Lisbon and Porto in the preceding days, alleging authorities used excessive force.

On Sunday, police arrested 25 people in Lisbon and another six protesters were arrested during an operation in Porto. Authorities seized and removed 171 protest camp structures (117 in Lisbon and 54 in Porto).

Activist group Casa ​Para Viver (Homes to Live) ⁠said 60 people were hurt and called for the fresh protest outside parliament on Tuesday.

“Choosing the early hours of the morning to unleash dogs and baton-charge peaceful protesters ​is a political decision. It shows this government would rather repress those denouncing ​the housing crisis ⁠than address it,” the group said on Sunday.

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said police acted in line with the principles ​of “necessity, proportionality and adequacy.”

Protesters demanded the minority centre-right government scrap ‌a bill ⁠that would speed up evictions and end rent caps on new leases, which passed a first reading with the conservative Chega party abstaining.

Chega leader André Ventura questioned the protest.

The report added that nearly a third of renters paying market prices now face excessive housing costs.

It said that the sharpest price hikes have occurred in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto, the Algarve, in coastal areas and mid-size municipalities, as well as Madeira.

However, rural and interior regions have seen more modest changes, with some areas even experiencing housing oversupply.

The attempted eviction ⁠of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal in Madrid, Spain triggered nationwide protests.

Police evicted Abascal on Sept. 23 from her Madrid home of more than seven decades.

The apartment in the capital’s affluent Retiro neighborhood was bought by investment fund Urbagestión, which sought a significant rent increase that Abascal could not afford.

“I’ve lived here for 71 years, and I don’t want to leave,” Abascal told reporters on the eve of the eviction.

Abascal’s lawyer told the BBC on Sept. 30 that she was allowed to return to the property. She died on Oct. 7.

Spain’s socialist-led government reapproved controversial housing measures, including rent caps and eviction restrictions, on Oct. 6, after their rejection by Parliament prompted Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call a snap election for Nov. 29.

On Sept. 23, Soledad Núñez, Bank of Spain deputy governor, said that since 2021, an estimated shortfall of about 755,000 homes has built up, and that the gap could widen by another 300,000 between 2026 and 2028.

Reuters contributed to this report.