On Tuesday, Ricardo Leão “used television to lie about the Vida Justa movement and the support given by the City Council to the residents of Talude,” the organization stated in a communiqué posted on social media.
It further claimed he “went even further: he suggested that Vida Justa is a criminal network, as a shameful attempt to criminalize the civic and political participation of those who fight for justice,” the statement added.
For the Vida Justa movement, by trying “to associate a social movement with criminality,” Ricardo Leão “is using a dangerous strategy: discrediting and repressing popular organization, as if it were a crime to participate in political life and claim rights.”
They concluded by stating: “We will not accept this attempt at silencing,” emphasizing that they are not and have never been “a criminal network,” but rather a group of parents, youths, and elderly people organized to “ensure dignity” for their families.
The Mayor of Loures disclosed on Tuesday night that he filed a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) denouncing a “criminal network” involved in the “sale of shacks” in the Talude Militar neighborhood.
According to Ricardo Leão, “shacks are being sold for two to three thousand euros for every five square meters, with guarantees of electricity and water,” at a summit organized by SIC Notícias, indicating that from March to July the number of precarious homes in the Talude Militar has “quadrupled.”
When questioned by SIC Notícias journalists about what this “criminal network” consists of, Ricardo Leão explained: “It’s one person, who has been identified, who also has a shack there.”
The mayor described the case as “very serious,” prompting the complaint. “That’s what’s indignified,” he lamented, expressing regret that individuals have fallen for “this illusion.”
Simultaneously, Ricardo Leão accused the Vida Justa movement of “harming the people” of Talude by “prohibiting them from talking” with city technicians.
“Vida Justa is manipulating these families,” he claimed, ensuring that the city has been “talking to all the people” in the Talude Militar since March, where the civic movement has supported residents, notably by raising donations.
“A problem needed to be contained,” Ricardo Leão declared, mentioning that he has conducted “250 demolitions” during his term.
The problem “is not new,” he underscored, describing an “uncontrollable” situation where “the idea that illegal housing can be built in Loures has become widespread.”
Ricardo Leão further noted that nearly half of the residents in the Talude Militar are from outside the municipality, a point contested by local associations.
The city council “ensures full social support for [those made homeless] not to sleep on the street” and “provides accommodation for all,” he assured, “with complete transparency,” stating that those individuals “sleep [outside] by choice.”
The mayor mentioned that he requested a meeting with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro in March, and is still waiting for a date.
