Protesters camp in Lisbon over soaring Portuguese housing costs

Protesters pitched tents and camped overnight in central Lisbon over the weekend to denounce Portugal's housing crisis. Euronews reported that demonstrators set up camp in Rossio Square to draw attention to soaring rents, while AFP, the Portugal Resident, NST Online, and Daily Beirut also reported that tents were set up in the capital. The Portugal Resident said housing protests and encampments also spread to Porto. [1][2][3][4][5]

Demonstrators spent the night in Rossio Square and expressed concern about possible police evictions while vowing to continue their campaign, Euronews reported. Students and workers said that rising rents are making housing unaffordable. Ivan Silva, a 49-year-old handyman earning around 1,000 euros a month, told Euronews that he rented a 20-square-metre flat for 180 euros in 2015, but that amount would not be enough today. [1]

Lisbon is one of Western Europe's oldest continuously inhabited urban centres, located in Portugal, which has a total population of 11.4 million people. As FTMQ News reported earlier, thousands of people gathered in Lisbon, Porto, Aveiro, Braga, and Funchal earlier in the month to protest against soaring living costs, high housing prices, and low wages. [8][9]

The latest overnight encampments follow earlier action by housing rights groups and trade unions across Portugal. As FTMQ News reported earlier, the CGTP union federation previously called for higher wages, improved pensions, and better public services during widespread cost of living demonstrations. [10]