“I want to tell all voters in the Algarve that there is one party that stands up to protect the right to housing,” stated Mariana Mortágua during a campaign initiative for the legislative elections on the 18th in Loulé, focusing on the theme of housing.
In a district previously won by Chega in last year’s legislative elections, surpassing PS and PSD, Mariana Mortágua aimed to attract votes by arguing that other parties, particularly the one led by André Ventura, “come to the Algarve and talk about housing, but in the Assembly of the Republic, they voted for ‘golden visas’ that increase house prices and favoured tax benefits for wealthy foreigners buying homes in the Algarve, thereby protecting real estate speculation.”
During her statements, a shout of “Chega” was heard, indicating the presence of Ventura’s party in the region, where BE’s candidate José Gusmão, a former MEP, holds the top candidacy spot. The Left Bloc aims to regain representation lost in this constituency in 2019.
“And it is essential that all people in the Algarve know who defends them here, with the courage to face real estate interests, and who comes to Algarve to spread lies and later votes alongside banking interests in the Assembly of the Republic, supporting the speculation that is taking away their homes and maintaining low wages. That’s why we came to the Algarve, and we want to speak with the people and tell them, face to face, who defends housing in Portugal,” argued Mariana Mortágua.
Housing remains a primary focus for the party in this campaign, particularly the proposal to impose maximum rent caps. The party’s leader took the opportunity to further criticize PS and PSD.
“This concerns the Algarve; it concerns many areas of the country. The biggest problem, the largest social drama in Portugal, yet we hear PSD and PS saying the exact same thing, which is nothing. They have no other solution for housing,” she lamented.
Accompanied by the top candidate José Gusmão and former party coordinator and current MEP Catarina Martins, Mariana Mortágua joined a gathering of Loulé residents who had built homes on their own land but illegally, now facing demolition orders from the City Council, forcing residents to bear the costs.
These residents argue they had no option and are also victims of the housing crisis.
Fátima Coelho is one such resident who lost her previous home as she couldn’t keep up with mortgage payments and subsequently resorted to using her grandfather’s abandoned land surrounded by other houses to erect a prefab dwelling.
“I was forced to make a small house to live in with my family,” she confessed. Initially, the municipal council issued a fine that Fátima paid. Then, an administrative possession of the land was declared with an order for demolition.
“We arrive here and hear the struggles of these people, telling us they only want a home, just to be happy in their little house, and then we face a complete lack of empathy from an economic model and authorities willing to send families into the streets without any alternative,” Mortágua warned.
Another local resident claimed many complaints are made by tourists who have “a very nice mansion and do not want the little house nearby, obstructing their sea view.”
“We just want peace, we only want our little house and peace, nothing more. We just want the right to pay our fair taxes. This is worse than war,” she lamented.
The top candidate for BE in Faro, José Gusmão, pointed out that the Algarve is the region with the country’s lowest average salary and the second most expensive housing, second only to Lisbon, criticizing the fact that construction occurs in nature reserves within the district.
“There is no urban barbarity that they won’t do in Loulé, so long as there is money. The great crime of these families is not having the money to be considered relevant by the Council,” he lamented.
