Declares demolition of shanty homes “will continue”
Ricardo Leão, the mayor of Loures, a northern suburb of Portugal’s capital city, Lisbon, has exacerbated the schism within the PS Socialist party, insisting that he will not back down on demolition of illegal shanty homes.
Defying figures in his own party who have signed up to an Open Letter decrying the demolitions, he accused ‘public figures and political movements’ of taking advantage of poverty and fragility.
Leão’s statements came in a video posted on social media as Lisbon’s Administrative Court suspended further demolitions at Bairro do Talude Militar following the lodging of an injunction.
In the video, Leão said he did not want to fuel political discourse, and that illegal construction is unacceptable and jeopardises people’s safety, health and dignity.
“The news of the last few days requires me to clarify a complex problem we have. I cannot accept that political movements or public figures take advantage of the poverty and fragility of some people just to gain prominence,” he added, explaining that the demolitions that went ahead under the media spotlight on Monday (and even on Tuesday) were not the first “nor will (they) be the last”.
“We do not allow people to live in inhumane, illegal and dangerous conditions. We do not allow the construction of shacks in the district of Loures, not because of a lack of empathy, but because it is the only way to guarantee safety and justice for all,” he said.
“There are movements, associations and public figures who, in the name of supposed solidarity, end up promoting indignity. The idea that it is enough to build a shack, illegally occupy land and settle without rules to immediately have a home is deeply dishonest to the more than 1,000 families who are waiting for municipal housing – but also to those who comply, who wait with dignity and trust in the rules and institutions,” he added.
In Ricardo Leão’s view, “promoting disorder is not solidarity: it is complicity in a cycle of exclusion and injustice”.
“We talk about rights and duties, but also about dignity and social justice. It is not about giving to those who shout the loudest. It is about ensuring that everyone has the same rights, duties and opportunities,” he said.
This is not a local issue: “it is a reality that is repeated in many districts of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. It requires shared responsibility with the government itself, cooperation with local authorities and plans with clear criteria of justice,” the mayor stressed, adding that Loures municipal authority is not shirking its responsibility, but cannot continue alone.
Leão also clarified that before the demolitions on Monday, “all people were informed and approached personally by council services, before, during and after the operation.
“Support continued and remains available, although none of the people affected had previously asked for help (…) Of the 65 demolition notices, we demolished 55 illegal buildings, 43% of owners had their official residence outside the district. I regret that only 29 families sought social assistance, not all of them,” he said.
The mayor added that of these 29 families, 11 were offered shelter “and most refused”.
“Three families accepted (…) We are also assessing three or four other situations for the private rental market. Of the families who came to us, no one was left without a social response,” he stressed.
On Monday, Loures council began an operation to demolish 64 illegal dwellings in the Talude Militar neighbourhood, where 161 people were living, including children and senior citizens.
Portugal’s attorney general’s office has launched an inquiry into the case, particularly after it became clear that armed police in riot gear were sent in to ‘keep homeowners back’ as the demolitions went ahead.
On the back of this very high profile incident, which had terrible optics for a European country, citizens group Vida Justa (which has been following the drama, and is focused on country’s housing crisis) has sent an Open Letter to the government demanding that it adopt “a national emergency housing and rehousing programme for families who are homeless or at risk of eviction”.
Speaking to Lusa, one of the Open Letter signatories, Rita Silva, said: “the lesson of this week is that the government cannot continue to whistle in the wind, saying that the responsibility lies with local councils (…) The government has to come up with an emergency programme to respond to this as if it were a natural disaster – which it is not (…) it is a social disaster, which has a political origin.
“If there was an earthquake, if there was a flood, it would be necessary to find a way to temporarily house people until they had solutions”.
In short, according to Rita Silva, “this is an emergency situation. The government has to come up with an emergency response.”
With these very human dramas going on in inner city areas, even in the Algarve the housing crisis has created terrible social impacts. The Resident this week heard of an elderly couple (reportedly in their 80s) living in their car in Olhão, with their elderly dog, after the landlord of the property they had been renting for years decided it would be far more lucrative to put the property on the short-term rentals market.
As soon as we have more details of this story, we will be writing a separate article.
Local residents are gathering furniture and ‘white goods’ in the hope that someone will offer the old couple a place in which they can stay. “It is not as if it will be for very long”, one of them told us.
Source material: LUSA
