Police Dismantle Porto's Housing Protest Camp at Dawn, and the Campers Summon Parties and Unions to an Assembly on Wednesday

Police removed the tents from Praça D. João I, in central Porto, early on Monday 12 October. The tents had stood there for two nights in a protest against housing costs and the rising cost of living. The campers stayed on in the square without them, held an open-air assembly, and called a larger one there for Wednesday 14 October. They have invited political parties, unions, associations and anyone hit by housing prices.

The camp grew out of Saturday's march, when about 1,500 people protested in Porto, according to Lusa. The march was organised by the platform "Não dá mais para viver assim" ("We can't go on living like this"), which also called protests in Aveiro, Braga and Lisbon. Afterwards, more than 50 people set up camp in the square in front of the Rivoli theatre, under the slogan "Não consegues pagar renda? Traz tenda" ("Can't pay the rent? Bring a tent"). Observador counted about 50 tents and Lusa about 60.

How the operation unfolded

The Polícia Municipal (Municipal Police) arrived at about 06:30, backed by officers of the PSP (Public Security Police). Observador reports they were from the PSP's intervention corps. According to Observador, officers ordered the tents removed because they were obstructing the public highway. The campers had planned to stay longer, after the example of similar camps in Spain, especially in Madrid.

Accounts of the next two hours differ. João Silveira, one of the protesters' spokespeople, told Lusa the group put up no resistance and began packing the tents "peacefully" at about 08:00. The one tense moment, he said, came when officers began lifting everything and loading it into vans. Observador saw shouting and some pushing once police began carrying tents to a city council truck. It reported no arrests and no one formally identified. SIC Notícias reported that some protesters were being identified.

"We feel very betrayed by the council, because the police explained that this was not a removal aimed at the protest, but because of the occupation of public space," Silveira told Lusa. "But we are not going to stop, and we are going to hold new actions."

Another camper told Lusa that the Municipal Police had taken belongings away in an open truck and that owners could collect them later. "It seems that for that you will have to pay some kind of fine," the camper said. We could not confirm whether any charge applies. Council crews then hosed the square down. About ten PSP officers stayed nearby through the morning. No statement from Porto City Council appeared in the reports published by late morning.

What the campers want

Observador listed the protesters' demands as price controls on essential goods and fuel, and taxes on the extraordinary profits of large banking, energy and retail companies. They also want measures to tackle the housing crisis. Campers interviewed by Lusa on Sunday went further. They asked the Government to reverse the new rental law, cut rents, impose rent caps and expand public housing. They also want buildings held by property funds, and empty buildings, to be expropriated.

One camper, a 34-year-old Spanish woman whom Lusa did not name, described sharing a flat with three others for 1,200 euros a month. The flat is still registered as short-term holiday accommodation, she said, so she cannot declare the rent on her IRS return, and the contract now renews month to month. "How can anyone think about their future if they have to live month to month?" she said.

The protesters say they will stay in Praça D. João I "peacefully and in an orderly way" until Wednesday's assembly. For background on the rental changes debated in September, see our report on the Government's request to rewrite rental law by decree.