by Lusa
Against the rising cost of living in Portugal, hundreds of people gathered today in Marquês de Pombal Square in Lisbon, in a demonstration that will go to the Assembly of the Republic, to demand political action, including “wages to live on”.
“We want bread, not inflation”, “Stop the price increases” and “Houses to live in, not to speculate on” are some of the slogans written on the banners that were on the ground at 15:00 waiting for the start of the protest through the streets of Lisbon, which began to move at 15:45, the time it began to rain.
The demonstration, promoted by the civic movement Vida Justa, filled one side of the Marquês de Pombal roundabout with hundreds of people, hoping that more would join them so that the march to the Parliament could start before 4:00 pm.
Speaking to the Lusa news agency, Rui Estrela, one of the leaders of the civic movement Vida Justa (Just Life), said that the participation is mainly people from the peripheries of Lisbon, affirming that more important than the adhesion to today’s protest is that it will have continuity, referring to that this manifestation is “the most resonant way” to start the process of demands with the political power.
The option to end the protest in the Assembly of the Republic was because they believe that “this is the space that should be permeable to the proposals and the voice of citizens,” said Rui Estrela, noting that calling a demonstration is the “easiest” way to make themselves heard, so that they can participate in decision-making and have “democracy in its fullest.
“Fight, fight, to end hunger. Fight, fight, we want houses to live in,” was one of the slogans that could be heard along with the sound of drums.
Among the various placards at the protest, one was held up by an elderly woman in a wheelchair: “I was forced to come to the street to shout.
“It’s time to come together and fight!” read another.
In defense of “living wages”, the limitation of the price of basic goods and “housing for people”, the Fair Life Movement was born in the outskirts of Lisbon, composed of residents of the capital’s suburbs, people from social movements and citizens from different sectors, such as teachers, lawyers, anthropologists, researchers, among others, who came together to warn of the precarious situations they are currently experiencing.
In the concentration near Marquês de Pombal Square, several associations were represented, including the General Secretary of the National Federation of Teachers (Fenprof), Mário Nogueira.
This protest takes place almost simultaneously with a demonstration of teachers and non-teaching workers, organized by the Union of All Educational Professionals (Stop), which began near the Palace of Justice and will also go to the Assembly of the Republic.
The manifesto of the Fair Life Movement, which is in the process of collecting signatures, warns that “every day prices are going up, evictions are increasing, and salaries are enough for fewer days in the month.
“People are choosing between heating their homes or eating,” reads the document, in which the signatories demand a crisis program that “defends those who work,” the tabulation of energy and basic food prices, the freezing of interest on bank loans, the prohibition of evictions, as well as wage increases above inflation and measures to support commerce and small businesses.
