Portugal's housing crisis has brought the spirit of the 1974 Carnation Revolution back onto the streets, after police crackdowns on peaceful encampments in Lisbon and Porto left between 80 and 100 people injured and triggered a political storm. In Lisbon's Rossio square, banners hanging from the statue of King Pedro IV included a promise to repeat April if necessary, a reference to the revolution that ended the dictatorship in 1974. The protests have drawn thousands of young people and older residents angered by housing costs and the broader cost of living.
President António José Seguro, a socialist, said he did not like what he saw in images of the violent clearance of encampments during the weekend of 24 and 25 October. After a new eviction operation in the two cities on Sunday left dozens injured, he renewed his demand for accountability and convened political parties and specialists to address housing. Hours later, thousands of people returned to the squares that had been cleared in Lisbon and Porto.
The numbers underline the scale of the problem. Portugal has the European Union's worst housing crisis, with purchase prices having doubled since 2017 and rents rising by a similar amount. A minimum wage below €1,000 a month makes the roughly €1,200 monthly rent for a standard apartment unaffordable for most households. Adriana Dias, a 32-year-old public-school Spanish teacher, said she can live alone only with help from her parents. She described herself as privileged because others her age can rent only a room, but argued that her situation should be normal and that wages no longer cover an ordinary rent.
The crisis has been fed by two global shocks, according to the account: the 2008 financial crisis, which devastated construction, and the pandemic, which was followed by mass tourism and digital nomads. The arrival of expatriates in Lisbon and other southern European cities with relatively low prices has strained an insufficient housing supply; construction now meets only about one-third of demand. Foreign investors attracted by golden visas, which have since been restricted, further congested the market and pushed prices up.
The political debate has often been framed around immigrants versus foreign capital. The far-right Chega, the main opposition party, blames immigrants, while the left points to foreign speculation. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, a conservative, defended his 2027 budget by accusing previous Socialist governments of attacking foreign capital and ignoring what he called uncontrolled immigration. Official figures show Portugal had 1.6 million foreign residents at the end of last December, 14% of a population of almost 11.5 million, double the 7.1% recorded at the end of 2021, when there were 748,000 immigrants. That has added pressure on housing and public services.
Protesters reject the framing. Dias said the far right blames immigrants but she blames speculators, adding that Lisbon residents do not want to be mannequins in a tourist set. The demonstrations have been peaceful and have revived the symbols of April 25: red carnations, the song Grândola Vila Morena and references to the 1976 Constitution and its social rights. A protest outside Parliament on Tuesday, as deputies debated the 2027 budget, brought together middle-class residents, civil servants, young parents, professionals and pensioners. Police repression has also drawn middle-class people into the streets in defence of the right to demonstrate.
The crackdown has caused strains inside the government's own camp. Hugo Soares, leader of the parliamentary group of the governing PSD, acknowledged that there had been excesses. Miguel Poiares Maduro, dean of the law faculty at the Catholic University of Portugal and a former regional development minister, said the government had made a political mistake by treating the issue above all as a matter of public order, apparently influenced by events in Spain and France. By intervening early, when protesters had not behaved violently, the authorities turned public opinion against them and appeared to have exacerbated the conflict, he argued.
Housing activists trace part of the crisis to the 2012 rental liberalisation law known as the Cristas Law, adopted under pressure from the troika. Maria Dolores Pinheiro, of the Association for the Heritage and Population of Alfama, said the law allowed a clearing of the neighbourhood through evictions of older and vulnerable people. She warned that the new rental law, which removes caps, will be worse. In Alfama, one of Lisbon's most tourist-heavy neighbourhoods, 60% of privately owned buildings are used for tourist accommodation, she said, adding that evictions have been almost cost-free and that the area is being left open to speculation.
The Casa para Viver platform, which brings together around 30 associations, is leading the mobilisation and has called a new housing march for 14 November. Its spokesperson, Nuno Ramos de Almeida, said the message from the street had caught politicians' attention but that it was unclear whether that would be enough. He pointed to roughly 1,000 evictions a year and to people leaving their homes silently because they cannot pay. According to the platform, 27% of people fall into poverty after paying rent or a mortgage.
More protests and strikes are planned. Public-sector unions grouped in the Frente Comum have called a strike for 20 November under the slogan wages, rights and public services, four days before the final budget vote. Protesters have also raised the prospect of an Iberian general strike on 11 November if Portuguese unions join a call in Spain. Portuguese households are also set to pay double this year compared with 2025 to heat their homes. Amid the unrest, some participants warn that radical elements could discredit the movement and benefit the far right, while the authorities accuse the left of instrumentalising the protests. Dias said the carnations would not wither and that April was now, whether in October or November.
Sources: El País Internacional.