The key facts

  • Dozens of tents were pitched on Rossio Square in Lisbon after a march that gathered thousands of people across the country
  • Housing prices in Portugal rose by 124% from 2015 to 2024 — roughly twice as fast as the EU average
  • Protests in Portugal are developing against the backdrop of Spanish tent camps, which led to early elections on 29 November

Tent camp in central Lisbon

On Saturday, protesters pitched dozens of tents in Lisbon, demanding action against rising housing prices and the cost of living in Portugal. The action replicates demonstrations that have swept neighbouring Spain for several weeks. In the evening, hundreds of people gathered on Rossio Square in the tourist centre of the Portuguese capital after a march in which thousands of people took part across the country. Predominantly young participants announced their intention to stay overnight; according to AFP journalists, hundreds of people sang songs around the statue of King Pedro IV that dominates the square.

Voices of participants

46-year-old social worker Helena Costa said that 'the social class of Portuguese people who pay taxes and sustain the country's life is under attack and losing rights, in particular the right to housing,' adding: 'we are all here to explain that we are suffocating.' 52-year-old engineer António Margado criticised the centre-right government for 'the complete liberalisation of rentals': according to him, landlords are increasingly protected, while tenants who need a home are increasingly less so. Self-employed Isabel Ferreira told public broadcaster RTP that she cannot afford the 'exorbitant rent in Lisbon,' even though she is a 'daughter of Lisbon.'

Scale of the housing problem

According to official data, housing prices in Portugal rose by 124% from 2015 to 2024 — roughly twice as fast as the EU average. The problem is particularly acute for young people and in Lisbon, which, including its metropolitan area, concentrates about a quarter of Portugal's more than 11 million residents.

Background of the protests

Saturday's camp in Lisbon strengthened a movement that began in the northern city of Porto, where dozens of tents have also been set up. At an earlier rally in Lisbon, organised by the largest trade union CGTP, demonstrators demanded better public services, pensions and wages, as well as measures against the rapid rise in housing prices. To the sound of drums, they carried placards with slogans 'Their greed is our poverty' and 'The cost of living is rising, the people can no longer take it.' 43-year-old civil servant Yolanda Silva told AFP: 'Many problems. Wages, housing, the cost of living: it is a question of survival.'

Government reaction and the Spanish context

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro said that 'we fully understand that people want answers' and wish to 'express outrage at what they believe may be shortcomings in public policy.' At the same time, he warned political opponents against 'importing into Portugal a climate of instability and protest that in fact has no support in Portuguese society' — apparently referring to the violent protests that have swept France. The expansion of the Portuguese movement is taking place against the backdrop of Spain, which for a fourth week has been gripped by tent camps and demonstrations over housing, culminating in the calling of early general elections for 29 November.