Residents of 64 precarious self-built homes in the Talude Militar neighborhood, where 161 people live, were notified about impending demolitions by the Loures City Council on Friday at 7 p.m., marking the end of judicial working hours.
These notifications initiated the 48-hour legal period for residents to access the courts to defend their legally protected rights and interests.
This period, coinciding with the weekend, prevented such legal recourse, explained a representative from the Vida Justa movement, which is supporting the residents at risk of losing their homes, in a statement to Lusa.
This representative views the situation as “an attempt to hinder the constitutional right to legal protection.”
This right is enshrined in Article 20 of the Portuguese Constitution, ensuring access to justice and a fair process.
Despite these circumstances, at least one lawyer managed to file an injunction within the 48-hour deadline, covering 14 residents. However, it was only received by a judge today when the courts resumed operations.
Nonetheless, the Loures municipality commenced the demolition operation in Talude Militar before that time, at 8 a.m. today—though it was executed over two hours later due to resistance from residents, which complicated the accompanying police intervention.
The notification by the socialist municipality led João Gaspar Simões, an administrative law specialist, to argue that there was “a malicious intent to restrict the capacity to appeal to effective judicial protection.”
“This action clearly aims to undermine the administrative and judicial defense guarantees provided to citizens by the Constitution,” he stated, referencing Articles 266 to 268 of the Constitution concerning administrative guarantees.
The Loures municipality, the lawyer emphasized, “prevented immediate appeal to the very body that executes the act and administrative appeal against the act, since the council’s services are closed on weekends.”
During the demolition operation today in the neighborhood, several residents complained about being notified only on Friday for an event scheduled for Monday.
To Lusa, Paula Magalhães, city councilor overseeing the municipal police, confirmed that the affected residents were notified “on Friday.”
When questioned about the timeframe preventing judicial recourse to contest the decision, she replied, “Well, [over the weekend] they have time to remove their belongings, which is the purpose of the notification.”
Several residents also reported that they were never contacted by the municipal executive, despite having requested meetings.
Councilor Paula Magalhães believes, however, that “there is no such need” to interact with individuals living in homes scheduled for demolition.
Today’s operation in Talude Militar, “under the direction of the City Council,” was not the first and will not be the last, she noted, extending the demolition plan to other neighborhoods in the municipality without specifying.
“The Loures City Council will not allow the construction and continuation of this reality of shanties in the municipality of Loures,” she emphasized.
