by Ilya Maximov
[Regnum] The housing unaffordability protests that previously engulfed Spain have now spread to Portugal. What began as a localized protest in one city quickly escalated into nationwide demonstrations, which are already being called one of the most serious challenges for the center-right government of LuÃs Montenegro.
No doubt coordinated by the international Antifa cadre in their latest repeat of 1968, financed by Neville Roy Singham and his little friends. Come down hard on them, PM Montenegro, or they’ll just accelerate things.It all began on October 10th, when a group of activists set up a tent camp in a square in the very center of Porto. The first activists took to the streets under the slogan, "Can't pay the rent? Get a tent! "
On the night of October 15, police carried out the first violent crackdown. According to organizers, 39 people were injured in the dispersal, two seriously, and one law enforcement officer was also injured.
| Good for the violent crackdown. Here’s hoping the policeman is healing well and quickly |
| …of course — though that doesn’t make it true… |
| Clearly greater and/or more targetted harshness is needed — perhaps involving the army and a whiff of grapeshot. |
Protesters are demanding an end to evictions without provision of alternative housing, a ban on the purchase of residential property by investment funds, an increase in the amount of social housing, and the introduction of rent caps.
| According to Sarah Hoyt, who grew up there, Portugal has been pretty socialist for generations. The mindset of How Things Should Be is very different. |
One of the protesters, 26-year-old Carolina Cruz, told Reuters: "I'm the first in my family to go to graduate school, and even with my education, I still can't cope...
| Did she overspend on education versus the kind of salary her field of study pays in Portugal? Then she purchased prestige, and needs to pull on her big girl pants and find a way to live within the income she actually earns. It’s Gods of the Copybook Headings time. |
| What can’t go on forever won’t. There is no more road to kick the can down. You are clever, Ms Cruz — no doubt you can think of several more clichés that describe the current situation. |
| On the contrary, my dear. The voters elected LuÃs Montenegro because they are no longer willing to subsidize your lifestyle — that’s the bottom line reality. |
| There is no right to housing. Sorry. |
Landlords will also be given the right to demand up to three months' worth of rent as a deposit, instead of two. For opponents of the changes, this signaled that the state was siding with landlords and investment funds over tenants.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Portugal estimates the country's housing shortage at 300,000 homes, equivalent to the entire housing stock of the Portuguese capital.
| Under previous conditions, why would anyone build new housing? The profit isn’t there. |
According to a European Council report, 116% of the average salary in Lisbon goes toward rent, making it one of the most unaffordable cities in Europe for its residents. And the problem is only getting worse: the National Statistics Institute calculated that the median rent for new contracts in the second quarter of 2026 increased by 10.2% year-on-year, reaching €10.17 per square meter.
| The answer is to get a job elsewhere, even if it is less prestigious than a Lisbon address. |
The authorities' response to the protests only embitters their participants. On Sunday night, law enforcement officers again dispersed demonstrators camped in tent cities.
In the capital, dozens of baton-wielding police officers, some with sniffer dogs, arrived at Rossio Square around 2 a.m. on Sunday. Similar events unfolded in Porto. More than 30 people were arrested as a result of the clashes.
The police insist their actions are proportionate. Their spokesman, Sérgio Soares, called the evictions in Lisbon "calm, proportionate, and adequate, without any police violence."
However, organizers and activists hold a different opinion. "The decision to unleash police dogs and use rubber bullets early in the morning against people who were sleeping or peacefully protesting is political. It shows that this government prefers to suppress those who speak out against the housing crisis rather than address the crisis itself," the Casa para Viver (House for Life) movement said in a statement. According to activists, dozens of people were injured during the crackdown.
"We didn't threaten anyone, but they still attacked women, elderly people, and unarmed people," a witness told RTP.
Government officials support the actions of law enforcement officers. "The government will not give in to the cries from the streets," declared Parliamentary Affairs Minister Carlos Abreu Amorim. But no one seems ready to disperse.
The protests continued on Sunday. “We're on the streets, and we'll be here every day," one of the protesters in Lisbon promised in an interview with RTP.
Meanwhile, amid police brutality, demands for a change of government began to be added to those calling for the reform to be repealed. "This government cannot continue and must fall!" urged one demonstrator in the capital, prompting cries of "Resign!" to echo throughout Rossio Square.
Protesters are calling for a general strike on November 11—in coordination with Spanish trade unions—and vow to remain in the squares until the government abandons the reform and takes real measures to increase affordable housing.
Prime Minister LuÃs Montenegro stated that his government understands that people want to "express their outrage at what they perceive as a lack of action in public policy." But he cautioned against "importing into Portugal an atmosphere of instability and protest that has no real support in Portuguese society."
These words are hardly timely, as thousands of Portuguese have already taken to the streets, and to say they don't support the protests is at best odd. However, the prime minister's concerns are understandable, as the events unfolding in the country are part of a broader wave of discontent that has swept Europe in the past couple of months.
Tent camps have been erected in the Spanish capital since the end of September, and the housing crisis has become one of the main reasons for the snap elections.
In Italy, protests against the cost of living in Milan, Turin, and Bologna escalated into clashes and riots, forcing authorities to deploy the military to stabilize the situation.
In Belgium, protests against rising living costs and tuition fees were accompanied by clashes with police. In France, dissatisfaction with school conditions escalated into a nationwide movement, ultimately resulting in riots in major cities.
This pan-European backdrop lends additional meaning to the events in Portugal. When tens of thousands of people in different countries take to the streets for similar reasons, it speaks not of a localized failure, but of the systemic pressure exerted by the unsightly reality of life in the EU on the European model, the success of which Brussels so often boasts.
| It’s true that the Brussels model is not successful; one hopes that they figure out a more effective model soon. |
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