Portugal's president adds his voice to calls for action on housing as protests begin
President Seguro said poverty "cannot be seen as inevitable" as crowds gathered in Porto to protest housing costs and the rising cost of living, Portugal Resident reported.
Portugal's President Seguro has joined calls for politicians to fix the country's housing crisis, according to Portugal Resident. He spoke out as protests against the rising cost of living and housing costs got under way across the country.
Portugal Resident, citing LUSA, the Presidency of the Republic and SIC Notícias, reported that "a sea of people" had gathered in central Porto at the start of the demonstrations. The protests fell on International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
In a message on the Presidency's official website marking the day, Seguro said poverty "is not just an economic condition", but "also a limitation on each person's freedom, dignity and opportunities".
“In a democratic society, no one should live without the means to meet their essential needs, without access to housing, healthcare, education or decent work. Poverty cannot be seen as inevitable.”President Seguro, in a message published by the Presidency
He said that the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion had fallen below two million for the first time since 2015, but that the figures "should continue to challenge us". He pointed to "young people who cannot plan their future" and "people who work and who, even so, live in poverty".
The day before, at a meeting of the Arraiolos Group in Brdo, Slovenia, the president warned that a Europe where many young people cannot afford a home "risks losing the trust of the younger generations", the outlet reported.
The president's comments matter because they come as a government rental reform is moving through parliament. According to Portugal Resident, left-wing parties oppose the reform, and CHEGA helped send it on to committee stage.
Socialist Party (PS) leader José Luís Carneiro has repeatedly said the law should be shelved, arguing it "will leave younger people less protected". On the day of the protests he described "a social powder keg". He told journalists the PS had put forward its own law to stimulate the rental market and protect both landlords and tenants, which the government did not accept.
“The government and the prime minister did not accept the PS proposal, but as can be seen, the PS was absolutely right.”José Luís Carneiro, PS leader
A lot is still unknown. The report gives no figures for how many people joined the protests in Porto or anywhere else. It does not set out what the government's rental reform contains or how the PS alternative is different. It does not include any response from the government. It also does not say whether the president's comments refer to the rental reform directly, or what happens to the reform next.
