Housing protesters in Porto decided to spend the night at Praça Dom João I, where more than a dozen tents were put up shortly after midnight. Fourteen tents were in place, according to Rádio Observador. At a popular assembly, demonstrators welcomed Mayor Pedro Duarte’s willingness to meet publicly but said the conditions for a meeting were not yet in place.
In a social media post, the activists set out four demands for talks with the mayor: supported rents in all municipal homes; changes to the rules for access to social housing; measures to bring more than 20,000 vacant properties identified in Porto onto the market; and a ban on local accommodation licences in properties intended for housing, along with the cancellation of existing licences.
In Lisbon, protesters dispersed from Rossio but voted to return with tents on Tuesday night. At an assembly held there on Monday, they also agreed to meet President António José Seguro and to move a future gathering to Pátio das Quintinhas, in Beato, in support of around 30 families reportedly facing eviction within 10 days.
Three tents remained at Rossio after the assembly, including one belonging to activist Renata Câmara. She said she put hers up after others had done so, adding that she did not want to leave them alone and uncertain. A Lisbon Administrative Court ruling in her case found that she could stay overnight and put up a tent after 12:30 a.m.; the report said the judge considered the decree invoked by police to remove tents unconstitutional. PSD parliamentary leader Hugo Soares, however, argued that the ruling applied only to Câmara’s individual case.
The Council of State met for five hours to discuss social cohesion, with 15 of its 19 members attending. The statement issued afterward offered no specific conclusions, but said social cohesion was important to strengthening public confidence in democratic institutions. The discussion included structural challenges such as inequality, regional cohesion and access to housing, education and healthcare.
In international news, Spanish authorities identified all 69 people killed in last week’s rail accident in Spain, including one Portuguese citizen. The regional court in Castile-La Mancha said 54 victims were Spanish and 15 were foreign nationals. All families had been notified, and 55 bodies had been returned to relatives at the time of the report.
In football, Benfica beat Alverca 1-0 at the Estádio da Luz to close the Primeira Liga’s 10th round. Pavlidis scored from the penalty spot in the 51st minute. Benfica remained second on 25 points, five behind leaders Porto, while Alverca stayed 10th with 11 points.
Sources: Observador.