“Loures is not capable of solving this problem alone. Neither Loures nor Amadora nor Almada. It’s one thing, and it’s another thing entirely how they think they can solve it above all else,” stated Paulo Raimundo to journalists on the sidelines of a Portuguese Communist Youth (JCP) meeting in Amora, Seixal municipality.
For the Secretary-General of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), the recent shack demolitions in Loures “were not correct,” and the people living there deserved “humane treatment.”
“Loures is not an autonomous territory; it’s not some kind of county with sheriffs in Loures or in the country. I don’t think this was the appropriate procedure. (…) We can say it’s not a dignified dwelling, but it was the roof they had,” Raimundo told journalists.
On the legality of these dwellings, Raimundo emphasized that if the discussion is legal, the fundamental law is the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic “which enshrines the right to dignified housing for everyone,” adding that “many people are violating the law.”
For the leader, this situation highlights the need for a national solution to the housing crisis, recalling that among other housing measures, the party advocates directing resources equivalent to 1% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to a National Housing Program (for construction, maintenance, and renovation of public housing).
“This is not just a problem for the metropolitan area; it’s an issue particularly for metropolitan areas but also for the entire country. (…) We need an integrated policy, a national housing plan. We fought hard on this during the election campaign, and we will continue to insist because, otherwise, there is no alternative to this problem,” he said.
Raimundo also criticized government measures for housing, considering that what it does is “support, give benefits, aid, money to those who led to the current situation, which is the banks and real estate funds.”
According to Raimundo, besides leading to the shack problem, the housing crisis is causing many people to maintain their homes with great sacrifices, “stopping eating, going out, going to the cinema, to afford the expenses, the house.”
The municipalities of Loures and Amadora, both in the Lisbon district and both led by the Socialist Party (PS), carried out operations last week to demolish precarious homes built by residents, which stirred significant controversy.
Loures council began last Monday with the demolition of 64 precarious homes housing 161 people.
In two days, 55 were demolished before operations were halted by an order from a Lisbon court following an injunction filed by 14 residents.
In Amadora, the demolition of 22 illegal constructions on the Estrada Militar da Mina de Água is planned, with eight taken down by last Thursday.
Among other organizations, the Vida Justa movement has been contesting the municipalities’ actions, accusing them of a lack of oversight and solutions, and advocates for a national program to tackle the growing problem.
