Housing taz
55 arrests in Portugal: Police clear protest camp against housing shortage in Lisbon
In the Portuguese capital Lisbon, people demonstrated against high rents and set up a protest camp. Now the police took action against it. more...
Deutsch (original) ·Auto-translated to English
afp | In Portugal, police cleared a protest camp against the housing crisis and arrested 55 people. At dawn, dozens of tents were confiscated in Rossio Square in the heart of Lisbon, police said on Tuesday. The protest participants formed a human chain to delay the operation. According to recordings from local television stations, there were clashes. Two people were slightly injured.
Police said the “use of force” was “justified by the specific circumstances of the operation,” as some protesters refused to leave the scene. However, the use of force was “limited to the necessary minimum”.
“The arrested people were taken to police stations and will be brought before the responsible judicial authority as soon as possible,” the police said. The law enforcement officers confiscated “228 tent structures.”
However, the activists announced that they would continue their protest and announced that they would re-establish themselves in the central square in the next few hours.
According to official figures, rents in Portugal have increased by 124 percent within ten years. That's about twice as strong as the EU average. Young people – and residents of Lisbon – are particularly affected. There were also protests in the northern Portuguese city of Porto. A protest camp was also set up there.
However, in Porto on Tuesday, demonstrators evacuated their camp themselves, faced with the prospect of a police eviction. After the police arrived, "the demonstrators packed up their things," the demonstrators' lawyer, Tiago Machado, told the Lusa news agency.
The housing shortage is also a major issue in neighboring Spain. In September, the forced eviction from the apartment of 87-year-old pensioner Maricarmen Abascal sparked nationwide protests. The owner wanted to massively increase the rent. Although there was an agreement for the pensioner to return to her apartment, the 87-year-old died before that could happen. The dispute over housing policy led to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez calling new elections for November 29th.