“This country of extraordinary people, who fight extraordinary battles daily, are leaving their parents’ homes later, sharing houses until their 40s, dependent on social support for renting, living on the streets or in makeshift homes, even while working daily. The extraordinary housing crisis exacerbated by right-wing policies does not, however, require us to invent extraordinary measures,” stated BE parliamentary leader Fabian Figueiredo.
The BE representative made these remarks during the political statement phase of the Standing Committee meeting at the Assembly of the Republic, a body with fewer deputies and less power that operates when Parliament is dissolved or during recess periods.
The BE caucus believes that Portugal can simply “learn from the best European examples,” pointing out that Germany and the Netherlands “impose rent limits” and that various European cities “effectively regulate tourism.” The leader also advocated for taxing the banking sector “to invest in affordable public housing.”
“Lowering rents and house prices is as close as a courageous political decision. That is what the Left Bloc is here for,” he emphasized.
Similarly, PCP deputy António Filipe warned that “the country’s housing access issue mirrors the consequences of right-wing policies.”
“If the housing policy pursued in recent years is not halted, the country risks reverting to the 1980s when shanty towns were the hallmark of metropolitan areas. Now, thirty years after the Special Rehousing Program, we are witnessing the execution of a special eviction program overseen by successive governments,” he criticized, also holding the PS accountable during his speech.
For the PCP, the current situation demands that the State “assume its responsibilities in directly promoting affordable public housing, regulating the housing market to ensure rental contract stability and limit rent increases,” curbing “unjustified bank profits,” regulating short-term rentals for tourists, and eliminating “unjustified tax benefits for wealthy foreigners.”
António Filipe reminded that today marks the 49th anniversary of the adoption of the 1976 Constitution, which enshrines the right of everyone to “decent housing and the duty of the State to ensure it.”
For Livre, parliamentary leader Isabel Mendes Lopes brought the issue of sexual violence, particularly against women, to the floor.
“The increase in the number of sexual assaults and the alarming rate of sexual assaults committed by teenagers shows we have a serious problem of inequality, misogyny, lack of respect for others, and complete disregard for girls and women,” she warned, admonishing not only the perpetrators but also those “who watch and do nothing.”
Isabel Mendes Lopes emphasized the importance of citizenship and development education in this context and called for a revision of the Penal Code, including extending penalties and prescription periods and introducing new crime categories to cover digital phenomena.
PAN spokesperson Inês Sousa Real also addressed this issue, highlighting “the troubling impunity in the abhorrent case of a 16-year-old girl’s rape in Loures.”
“Looking at this year’s RASI, we see that sexual assaults have increased by 9.9%, with social networks and digital applications increasingly serving as instruments for sexual violence,” she lamented, underlining that during this legislative term, PAN secured measures allowing image-based sexual violence to be reported on the Electronic Complaint portal and for the NHS to provide ’emergency kits’ with essential items following forensic examinations.
The deputy reviewed the party’s actions over the past 11 months, noting it was “the most productive in Parliament, with 250 proposals submitted.”
