BE wants to know who determined the intervention of the Municipal Police in the removal of the protesters' tents in Praça D. João I, in Porto, questioning the locality about the “forced demobilization” of activists.
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13/10/2026
by
Lusa
Port Chamber
O BE wants to know who determined the intervention of the Municipal Police, on Monday, in the removal of the protesters' tents by the right to housing of Praça D. João I, in Porto, questioning the municipality about the “forced demobilization” of activists.
In a question addressed to the mayor of Porto, through the Municipal Assembly, the Left Block (BE) questions about “who determined the execution of the operation carried out in Praça D. João I on the morning of October 12, 2026”, wanting to know “when this decision was made, which municipal services involved and which circumstances determined the intervention”.
The deputy of BE at the Porto Municipal Assembly wants to know “what instructions were transmitted by the municipal executive or by the municipal services to the Municipal Police regarding the intervention in Praça D. João I, and which acts practiced the Municipal Police”.
That morning, the Municipal Police withdrew the about 50 tents that were armed in that square in the center of Porto under a demonstration that took place on Saturday against the increase in the cost of living and housing costs, organized by the platform “Can’t live like this anymore”.
The operation, says BE, involved the Municipal Police, the PSP and municipal services and “led the forced demobilization of protesters and the removal of existing tents on site”, having the “own City Hall of Porto” confirmed “this is a joint action between those entities”.
For the Block, the intervention “still raises particular doubts regarding the information publicly transmitted on the eve”, this because “it had been transmitted that the City Council would not intervene in the camp”.
“ The situation raises relevant questions about the framework of the municipal intervention, the role played by the Municipal Police and the guarantees provided by the Municipality in relation to the exercise of constitutional rights of meeting and demonstration ", stresses.
Therefore, the only Member of the BE in the Municipal Assembly, Susana Constante Pereira, questions the municipality about “what procedures and guidelines will adopt the municipality to ensure the full exercise of constitutional rights of meeting and demonstration in Porto”.
Susana Constante Pereira wants to know how the chamber, chaired by Pedro Duarte (PSD/CDS/IL), aims to ensure that “peaceful protest and protest actions will not be repressed or the subject of municipal interventions that extravagant the competences legally attributed to the municipality and the Municipal Police”.
The Bloquist also wants to know what “contacts, requests or communications existed between the Porto City Council and the PSP regarding this operation, when they occurred and on whose initiative”.
The protesters remained in the square during the day and night of Monday, and promote a popular assembly on Wednesday.
On Monday, the municipality assured that the camp in protest against housing prices was unduly occupying public space, which is why it was removed by the authorities.
In a statement, the municipality indicated that “the occupation of Praça D. João I through the installation of a camp was evaluated by the competent authorities and security forces, who should act in accordance with the law, not allowing the illegal occupation and degradation of the public space”.
“ In this sense, this morning [Monday] began a joint action between PSP, the Municipal Police and Porto Ambiente [municipal company], to remove the objects that unduly occupied the public space of Praça D. João I”, justified.