Portugal: union march over wages and housing fills Lisbon; police clear Rossio protest camp on October 20

Police in Lisbon removed a housing protest camp from Rossio square before dawn on Tuesday, October 20, three days after Portugal's largest trade union confederation, the CGTP, led a march through the capital over wages, living costs and housing, Portuguese outlet 24 Notícias reported, citing the Lusa agency. Several people were detained.

The October 17 march

The CGTP said "many tens of thousands" filled one of Lisbon's main avenues on Saturday; police gave no estimate, Reuters reported. Anadolu Agency described thousands rallying across the country, with marches in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra, and said the Lisbon march went from Cais do Sodré to Rossio, led by CGTP secretary-general Tiago Oliveira. Public broadcaster RTP lists Faro and Funchal as well.

The union's demands were higher wages and pensions, public services and affordable housing, Anadolu reports. Reuters cites figures behind the anger: house prices have more than doubled since 2017, rents on new leases have nearly doubled, and inflation was 3.6% in September, driven by food and fuel. One protester, a 26-year-old researcher, told Reuters she and her partner pay 716 euros a month and that renewal could push the rent above 1,200 euros.

On Friday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Carlos Abreu Amorim said the government "will not yield to shouts from the street" and that concrete measures were already being rolled out, Reuters reported.

The camps in Lisbon and Porto

The CGTP march was separate from tent camps run by local housing movements, RTP reports. RTP says those movements are demanding the immediate reversal of the new rent law and more public housing through renovation of empty state buildings.

In Porto, police cleared a housing camp in Praça D. João I in a night operation that, according to RTP, left 39 people injured, including one officer. Reports differ on when this happened: Anadolu says early Thursday, and RTP's live coverage places it about a day before an October 16 note from the Ombudsman, who asked the police for documents on the operation. Reuters said the camp was cleared in a pre-dawn operation on Monday. Opposition Socialist leader José Luís Carneiro said investigations were under way into possible disproportionate use of force, RTP reported.

A new camp went up in Rossio after Saturday's march; RTP reported dozens of tents still standing on Sunday morning. Overnight into Tuesday, the group voted to stay despite a police request to leave, 24 Notícias reported.

Tuesday's police operation

Police gave the protesters a five-minute ultimatum shortly before 6 am and began the operation at 6:08 with more than 50 officers, according to 24 Notícias. Protesters formed a human chain, which police broke through; some protesters threw objects and police used batons. Activists accused officers of assault.

Figures for detentions are not official. 24 Notícias says a police source cited about 50 detentions and that one protester was injured. A headline on radio station TSF said the protesters themselves spoke of 30 people detained and injured. All tents were removed and the Rossio metro station was closed during the operation.

In Porto, police acted at the same time, but protesters dismantled their tents after talks and left without incident, 24 Notícias reported. A spokesperson for the Lisbon camp said protesters would return every day at 7 pm.

Political reaction

Infrastructure Minister Miguel Pinto Luz said he watched the protests with great concern, RTP reported. Chega leader André Ventura threatened to vote against the rent law his party had enabled and blamed what he called uncontrolled immigration, while Carneiro called for an end to golden visas, according to RTP.