The presidential candidate Luís Marques Mendes addressed the ongoing demolitions in areas of the Lisbon district, specifically in Loures, on Wednesday.
“There is an illegal situation there, it’s true. But the council has been complicit for years. Therefore, when it comes to carrying out the demolitions, they should have first found temporary housing and only then proceeded with the demolitions. In other words, the opposite of what ended up being done,” he stated to journalists in Santarém.
Marques Mendes suggested that by proceeding this way, the local government would have handled the situation with “sensitivity and common sense.”
“In politics, everything is very important: making decisions, having good guidelines, but it’s fundamental to have sensitivity and common sense,” he continued.
When asked by journalists about the presence of shantytowns in Lisbon and the role of the State and the President of the Republic in this situation, Luís Marques Mendes noted that housing “should be a priority.” He highlighted his participation in an appeal to cooperatives earlier in the week. This meeting occurred on Monday while demolitions were already underway, but Mendes postponed comments on Loures, mentioning a lack of information sufficient to form an opinion at that time.
“There are no miracles in the housing domain. Building a house takes at least two years from project approval and licensing. Therefore, solutions are not available overnight. There aren’t any,” he asserted, arguing against creating false hopes on the matter.
“That’s why I advocate for an agreement between parties to rehabilitate renting because renting can be a quick solution. Before construction is finished, people can rent. Before owning a home, they can rent. But the rental market is in a dire state,” he criticized.
It’s noteworthy that the Loures council initiated the demolition of homes in Bairro do Talude on Monday, facing resistance from residents who have nowhere else to go.
Residents were notified of the demolitions on Friday, just two days before their homes were destroyed.
More than 160 people are affected by the destruction of these structures. Groups like Vida Justa accuse the Loures Municipal Council of blocking residents in the Talude Militar neighborhood from accessing their rights. Over 60 self-constructed homes have been demolished.
The demolitions continued on Monday and were scheduled for Tuesday but were suspended. Nonetheless, some houses were taken down on Tuesday morning.
On that morning, the Administrative Court of Lisbon decreed that the Loures Municipal Council was “prohibited from executing the demolition” of homes in the Bairro do Talude Militar.
