NGO accuses government and left-wing councils of “aiming to create social collapse”
Scenes that no-one would immediately associate with Portugal are ongoing today in Loures, in an area known as Bairro do Talude Militar.
Armed police, dressed in riot gear, are forcibly removing residents from the area as bulldozers wait to move in. The residents are made up of men, women and clearly terrified children.
The atmosphere is “tense”, admit reports. Indeed, it is yet another deeply disturbing picture that highlights the desperate situation facing so many underprivileged families in inner city areas.
“We are not moving. They are going to have to kill people today”, Lusa reports one furious homeowner shouting towards media cameras this morning.
A lawyer who has been following this case for the Vida Justa movement has appealed to people not to leave their homes, stressing “there is no court order” for today’s demolitions.
Bairro do Talude Militar is (yet another) shanty town that has sprung up on Lisbon’s outskirts as low-paid families discover they simply cannot afford to pay rental prices being asked. Unable for the same reason to get onto the home ownership ladder, these people see living in shacks that they have built themselves as the only option.
Gonçalo Filipe, from the Vida Justa movement, has told Lusa that there are legal proceedings underway to prevent these demolitions – criticising Loures City Council, in the Lisbon district, for what he calls this ‘aggressive’ approach.
But even as Gonçao Filipe spoke, more than a dozen members of the PSP Rapid Intervention Team were forcibly removing residents, in order for bulldozers to move in.
Some residents tried lying on the ground, sitting even – but as we wrote this text, their chances of succeeding in delaying this demolition looked slim. Indeed, SIC Notícias reports that some families have already been left with no options but to sleep ‘on the street’.
Vida Justa claims that roughly 80 homes will be demolished over the coming days – in both Bairro do Talude (Loures) and Estrada Militar, Mina de Água (Almada), with few answers for the families affected.
Loures City Council however has said that its actions are “always within the law and in absolute respect for judicial decisions, with priority given to safety, public health and human dignity”.
The municipality says it recognises the Vida Justa movement’s ongoing efforts to support people in vulnerable situations. “It encouraged the group to develop concrete solutions to the serious problem of the uncontrolled proliferation of illegal constructions”, writes Lusa.
In a statement sent to the state news agency, Loures City Council stresses that it “will continue to act responsibly, supporting those who demonstrate a willingness to comply and promoting orderly development in the municipality.”
Amadora Municipal Council meantime says it “will prevent the proliferation of illegal constructions” and has identified new illegal constructions on Estrada Militar da Mina (formerly Bairro de Santa Filomena) and will demolish them because “they hinder the municipality’s efforts”.
The municipality guarantees that families have received assistance in finding “legal and emergency solutions” that will ensure “public health and human dignity” – but insists that housing needs must be addressed “in a structured, fair and legal manner”.
Amadora has “significant investment underway to resolve the housing situation of 711 families who have long been registered on the municipal rehousing programme”, stressing that it receives 1,200 housing applications every year from vulnerable residents.
None of this sits well with the Vida Justa movement – a movement focused on keeping the country’s housing crisis in the headlines, until it is effectively addressed.
The NGO claims that today’s demolitions contravene the law (namely the legal regime for urbanisation and construction and the Basic Housing Law and its regulations) and also the Portuguese state’s commitments on human rights.
“These municipalities are continuing their policy of expelling the poorest, blaming the victims of the housing crisis and destroying homes in front of children and parents in despair,” says the movement, accusing the centre right government (PSD/CDS-PP) as well as the Socialist councils of Loures and Amadora of ignoring the housing problem—instead of adopting measures such as market regulation and more public housing—and aiming “to create social collapse”.
Sources: Lusa/ SIC Notícias/
