As the legislative elections of March 10 approach, thousands of people demonstrated on Saturday January 27 in around twenty cities in Portugal to denounce the housing crisis and demand solutions.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Lisbon, Marie-Line Darcy
In less than a year, this is the third event organized by the Logement pour vivre collective. This time, around twenty cities are associated with the movement, while more than a hundred associations are grouped within this collective.
The movement was born in the suburbs of Lisbon, caught up, and other cities with it, by the real estate crisis. Rents have become so expensive in the city center that demand has shifted to the outskirts, causing prices there to skyrocket.
In Lisbon, the median rent for a two-room apartment is 1,400 euros, the equivalent of the gross national average salary. Previous demonstrations brought together thousands of people, including just before the approval of the More Housing law of Antonio Costa’s resigned government. But the law is considered insufficient and the collective is demanding more social housing, regulated rents and protectionist measures to prevent evictions of tenants. The collective wants to put pressure on in view of the early legislative elections on March 10.
On Almirante Reis Avenue, in the heart of Lisbon, slogans call for a new housing policy. André Escobar of the Door-to-Door movement, one of the organizers of the rally, explains their objective: “ Housing must be the central theme of the electoral campaign and the political options of the future government. Whoever it is, this government must commit to respecting the Constitution and the right to housing that it stipulates.. »
In Lisbon, but also in Porto and elsewhere, rents are soaring. “ In Lisbon, it is now very difficult to find rent below 1,200 euros. It’s completely unbearable. The minimum wage is 820 euros. We work a whole month without even being able to pay for the apartment », protests André Escobar.
Activist of the Bruit association, Béatriz protests against the housing law of the outgoing socialist government, considered more than insufficient: “ This law is a farce, because in reality, the State forces owners to put their property on the market, but most of the time the houses are unsanitary. And if this is not the case, they are offered at unattainable prices. »
A regulated market, regulated rents, limited bank rates… the demands are numerous. And the warning from the demonstrators is very clear.
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