Thousands of people gathered outside Portugal’s parliament in Lisbon on Tuesday to protest against the country’s worsening housing crisis and recent police operations targeting housing activists.
The demonstration took place as lawmakers debated the government’s proposed 2027 budget, with protesters demanding more affordable housing and greater protection for tenants.
Portugal is facing one of Europe’s most severe housing affordability crises, with property prices more than doubling since 2017 and rents for new leases nearly doubling over the same period.
Young people have been particularly affected, as wages have failed to keep pace with rising housing costs.
The protest followed police operations on Sunday to dismantle tent camps set up by housing activists in Lisbon and Porto. Officers reportedly used batons during the operations, prompting allegations of excessive force.
Organisers said several thousand people attended Tuesday’s rally, although police did not provide an estimate of the crowd size.
Actress Erica Rodrigues, 39, said the crisis was affecting both younger and older generations.
“The cost of living in Portugal is very high for what people earn. It is unbearable,” she said, while criticising the government’s handling of the situation.
Protesters also called on the minority centre-right government to withdraw a proposed bill that would accelerate evictions and remove rent caps on new leases.
The legislation passed its first reading in parliament on Sept 30, with the far-right Chega party abstaining.
Joao Martins, 39, who is unemployed, said demonstrators were fighting for decent and affordable housing for everyone, as well as a state budget that prioritised the majority of the population rather than a privileged few.
He added that the rally was also about defending the right to protest, which he believed had come under serious threat following the recent police operations.
Portugal’s internal affairs watchdog, the IGAI, has launched an inquiry into the police operations, while prosecutors have opened a separate investigation into officers’ conduct.
Police reported 11 minor injuries, including three officers, during Sunday’s operations. However, activist group Casa para Viver, or Homes to Live, said 60 people were injured.
Addressing parliament on Tuesday, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro defended the police, saying their actions had followed the principles of “necessity, proportionality and adequacy”.
