Thousands of people took to the streets of several Portuguese cities last Saturday to protest against high housing prices and demand immediate measures to counteract the inflation that has generated this problem. The demonstrations were called by several neighborhood associations and activists in Lisbon, Porto, Viseu, Aveiro, Coimbra, and Braga and were supported by political parties. The demonstrators carried banners with messages such as “Right to a house, right to life” and “We want houses to live in.”
Left Bloc deputy Catarina Martins denounced in the Lisbon demonstration the high prices in the Portuguese capital, which is among the most expensive in the world, with salaries that are among the lowest in Europe. She criticized the housing plan announced by the socialist government of Antonio Costa, which they consider insufficient. The plan includes measures such as the forced rental of unoccupied houses, the end of the Golden Visa, and restrictions on tourist apartments.
The Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has expressed his concern about the measures, as have parties, mayors, and associations. The president has not even ruled out appealing to the Constitutional Court to review some of the proposed measures. The protests are in addition to others called in recent weeks to demand measures against inflation, which has reached record levels in 30 years. The minimum wage in Portugal is 760 euros.