Over 200 people gathered in Faro over the weekend to protest against sky-high property prices in the Algarve, and to demand solutions that would allow the region’s workers to be relieved of the crushing weight of high rent costs and unattainable house prices.
The protesters assembled in Faro carrying placards that spoke for themselves: “Living in this city is a luxury”, “The Algarve is not for sale, it is for living in”, “Homes to live in, not to speculate with”, and “It’s not selfish to want a home to live in”.
This comes as part of a larger wave of housing protests that have swept Portuguese cities in recent days, with the tent encampment in Porto having become its focal point. After a national day of demonstrations last week, on Saturday, 10 October, activists pitched about 60 tents in Porto’s Praça D. João I under the slogan “Can’t pay the rent? Bring a tent”, before the municipal police cleared the square on Monday, 12 October.
Protesters returned after a popular assembly of more than 500 people voted to camp again. The movement says a police operation in the early hours of Thursday, 15 October, injured 37 participants, two of them seriously. The spokesperson then ordered the camp to disband on Friday, 16 October, citing alleged infiltration of the protest by far-right agitators. The organisers’ demands include scrapping the new rent law, an end to evictions, new rent caps, more public housing, and the return of empty buildings to residential use.
Speaking to journalists this weekend, one of the organisers of the Faro protest, Afonso Horta, said turnout had “exceeded expectations”, particularly as the demonstration was called with less than 48 hours’ notice.
The housing squeeze is a nationwide problem, he argued, but it bites hardest on those who want to work and put down roots in the Algarve, where rents are simply beyond the reach of most workers. The average monthly wage of an Algarvian stands at just €1,151, worryingly low when the average rent of a one-bedroom flat in the region puts one out of pocket anywhere between €500 – €900 per month.
Buoyed by the positive response, the organisers now plan to widen the campaign, with a large march pencilled in for next month, on Saturday 14 November.
Among those taking part was 26-year-old Cátia Figueiredo, who still lives with her parents because she cannot afford a place of her own. She told reporters from the Lusa news agency that the government’s answers to the housing crisis “cannot be limited” to people under 35 and should cover everyone struggling with housing costs. She warned that some people are being forced to skip meals to pay their rent, and said any solution must take all age groups into account.
Telma Assunção, another protester, spoke of her fears for the future. She rents a home where she lives with her two young children, but her wages do not cover both the housing costs and the household’s needs, so she relies on her parents for financial help. Without that support, she said, she would be “extremely vulnerable” and could even end up on the street.
Also present was Francisco Martins, 33, a junior doctor: “I have no idea when I’ll be able to buy a home, because right now it simply isn’t possible,” he said. “That’s what brings me here: to give a voice to the Portuguese people, because at the moment they can’t afford to buy a home. We want the government to listen and to put forward measures that allow people to be independent.”
Source: LUSA / Barlavento / Observador
Photo credit: TSF
