Portuguese police clear housing protest camps in Lisbon and Porto
Police in Portugal broke up housing-crisis protest camps in Lisbon and Porto in the early hours of Sunday, detaining 31 people. Campaigners accuse police of excessive force, while police call their actions proportionate.
Portuguese police on Sunday, 25 October, dismantled protest camps set up by campaigners against the housing crisis in the capital, Lisbon, and in Porto, using batons and dogs and arresting more than 30 people. The camps had been established to protest housing prices that have soared beyond average incomes in Portugal.
How the operation unfolded
Dozens of officers, some with dogs, moved in shortly after 2am to clear more than 100 tents in Lisbon's Rossio Square. Police said they also took down a smaller camp of about 50 tents in Porto's Dom João I Square. In total, 31 people were arrested for disobedience and 171 structures were removed. Police said on social media that 11 people were injured, including three officers. Reuters reported that 25 of those detained in Lisbon were released and ordered to appear in court on Monday.
The Lisbon camp had been set up after thousands of people marched along one of the capital's main thoroughfares. The campaigners were inspired by similar camps in Spain.
Dispute over police conduct
Police described their actions as proportionate and said they had earlier urged people to leave voluntarily. The housing group Casa Para Viver (A Home to Live In) disputed the figures, saying more than 20 people were injured and that police used batons, dogs and rubber bullets. It called the decision to act in the early morning a political one and urged further protests on Wednesday. Fabian Figueiredo, a Left Bloc MP, described the operation as a wound inflicted on democracy.
Background
The camps began in early October, when campaigners pitched tents in Porto and police cleared them. Similar actions then appeared in Lisbon, leading to dozens of arrests. House prices in Portugal have more than doubled since 2017, and rents have nearly doubled. Campaigners are calling on the centre-right government to scrap proposed legislation that would make evictions easier and end rent caps on new leases. The bill recently passed its first parliamentary reading.
