LISBON -- Thousands of people marched in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra on Saturday in the latest round of housing rights protests that have now been ongoing for nearly three weeks, as civic movements maintained pressure on the government to adopt emergency measures to address the housing crisis.
In Lisbon, demonstrators gathered along Avenida da Liberdade behind a flatbed truck playing music, with police closing traffic as the crowd swelled.
Banners read "Housing is a right, homes are for living" and "Let through those who want a home to live in."
In Porto, hundreds gathered at Praca da Batalha before marching through the city center toward Praca D. Joao I, the focal point of the movement since it began two weeks ago.
Organizers distributed leaflets explaining the reasons for the protest and a "protester's guide" urging protesters to stay calm and providing guidance on how to act in the event of confrontation with authorities.
The movement is demanding that the government abandon its new rent law and adopt a package of measures including a ban on evictions without alternative housing, a prohibition on real estate fund purchases of residential property, an increase in public housing stock, rent caps and the recovery of vacant properties for housing purposes.
The protests have been marked by two incidents of police intervention. On Oct 15, the Porto encampment reported a pre-dawn police operation that injured 39 participants, two seriously, and one officer.
In Lisbon, authorities dismantled an encampment at Rossio square on Oct 20 and detained 55 protesters, who are due to appear before a judge on Oct 27.
