Mayor of Vila Franca de Xira confirms demolitions in tent neighborhoods

O president of the municipality of Vila Franca de Xira, district of Lisbon, confirmed today, in a chamber meeting, that “soon there will be demolitions” in the neighborhoods of tents of the municipality, although without indicating a concrete date.

Fernando Paulo Ferreira (PS) thus responded to Councilman David Pato, of the New Generation Coalition (PSD/IL), who again led the meeting of the chamber the situation in the neighborhoods of Clarimundo and Tardoz da Improsit, located in the parish of Sobralinho and where 37 people live, without water, light or sanitation.

In the period before the agenda, the Social Democratic Councillor questioned the mayor about when he intends to solve the problem in those neighborhoods, which he visited on the 2nd day, at which time he gave statements to Lusa on the spot.

“ How do you propose to end the tents of our municipality and how do you propose to give decent living conditions to people?”, asked Fernando Paulo Ferreira.

People are “uplifted” and municipal services maintain a “very close” relationship with families, the mayor said.

“ In July a survey was made mainly to verify what would have to be removed [...]. Administrative procedures are now underway, soon there will be demolitions,” he said, referring to the operation carried out on 21 July in those two precarious housing clusters.

The operation, triggered by the Public Security Police, but with the participation of several municipal teams (fiscalization, environmental area and social action), resulted in the identification of 11 precarious houses occupied and 11 vacant and uninhabited buildings.

“ Neither any additional construction nor any type of supplementary occupation is allowed”, stressed the socialist mayor.

After being in the news about half a year ago, Lusa returned to the neighborhoods last day 01 and did not identify any change in the scenario observed on the first visit.

After this return to the field, the agency again questioned the municipality, which confirmed that the municipal services are “exercising actions leading to the eradication of these precarious cores”, continuing not to answer the concrete question about the plan and temporal goals of the relocation of the 37 people who live there and who are identified in the Local Housing Strategy (ELH), dated 2021.

In statements after SIC, which today released a television piece based on the images recorded by Lusa, Fernando Paulo Ferreira said that the relocations “will happen as the process of building or making new housing available” is resolved.

According to SIC, and even though Fernando Paulo Ferreira does not appear to say so in the piece transmitted, the municipality of Vila Franca de Xira recognizes that it will be difficult to relocate until the end of the year, but ensures that demolitions will only proceed after that.

With a loud voice the socialist mayor repeated that “newer constructions” will not be allowed, without realising to which and how many he referred, but with the exception that the demolition will take place “as soon as the administrative procedures are completed”, there is still no “specific date for this event”.