“The court has given the municipality ten days to respond, and efforts are currently underway to challenge the decision,” a source from the Loures City Council, led by socialist Ricardo Leão, stated.
The Loures City Council began an operation last week to demolish 64 precarious houses, home to 161 people.
Over two days, 55 were demolished. However, on the second day, 14 residents filed an injunction, which the Lisbon Administrative Court accepted, resulting in the suspension of the operations.
Meanwhile, over the past weekend, the Loures City Council began the process of cleaning up debris from the demolitions, which continued this morning and will resume on Wednesday, according to the municipal source, noting that there is no set completion date for these works.
The same source indicated that the families affected by these demolitions are being encouraged by municipal technicians to inquire about available support, with some visiting the Casa da Cultura de Sacavém this afternoon.
According to information from the municipality, from the Lisbon district, 14 of the 55 families occupying the demolished precarious structures are receiving support from the Loures City Council, which has attended to 38 of the households by Friday.
Another 14 families have found alternative housing with relatives or friends, three declined the support, and seven have not shown interest in the provided solutions.
The latest available data shows that three families, with five minors, continue to receive overnight support, while ten families, with 21 minors, are receiving food assistance.
Five families have been able to access the rental market, benefiting from municipal support to pay the security deposit and the first month’s rent, the council added.
Contacted, Kedy Santos from the Movimento Vida Justa noted that the families are receiving the same response from the City Council’s technicians and that the proposed assistance does not resolve their situation.
“It’s more of the same. Alternatives must be negotiated with the government,” he argued.
The activist also stated that families with children fear an intervention by the Commission for the Protection of Children and Young People, potentially resulting in the removal of minors.
“There is a risk. Hence the urgency to resolve this situation,” he emphasized.
Meanwhile, residents and activists held a plenary session to prepare upcoming actions, deciding to conduct a public action on the 30th, Kedy Santos announced.
The plan, according to the activist, is to deliver an open letter calling for the suspension of evictions and resolution of housing issues to the building where the Council of Ministers meets, in Lisbon.
[News updated at 19:03]
