Some 200 people have expressed their right to housing in Funchal

Cerca of 200 people participated today in a demonstration for the right to housing in Funchal, which involved a march between the town square and the broad in front of the Legislative Assembly of the autonomous region.

“ This is an incredible victory for Madeira. Two hundred people in a demonstration for the right to housing is, yes, a message of what happens to Madeira’s rulers, to the country’s rulers, because this is a national, international and regional crisis,” Diogo Teixeira, one of the spokespersons of the initiative, told journalists.

The demonstration was organized by the Casa Para Viver platform and the Terreiro das Lutas group, which require the reversal of the new rental law, among other measures, within the national protest that took place today in more than 30 cities.

“ Here is the population of Madeira saying that the housing crisis is responsible and those responsible have to do with the people who elect them,” Diogo Teixeira said, stressing that “it is the people who voted to elect Members, it is these people who elected the mayors and it is these people who now demand from them that they do something for housing.”.

The protesters, mostly young people, went through some streets in the center of Funchal in a very noisy way, chanted slogans like “Let it pass, let it go, I am Madeiran and I want home to live”, “Down with speculation, it will fall, it will fall”, “Long live the united people to resist, to resist”, “I want a roof, I want a floor, I want right to housing”.

Some sayings were directed in particular at the president of the Regional Government of Madeira (PSD/CDS-PP), social democrat Miguel Albuquerque, with protesters shouting repeatedly: “Albuquerque, I want to have a salary for the house and to live”.

“ We have a dizzying rise in the price of real estate, which, keeping this pace, puts at risk society itself and will affect all social layers without exception ", warned Mariana Pires, also spokesperson of the demonstration, criticizing the regional government policy in the sector.

“ We have a government and a president of the Regional Government that actively promotes luxury real estate, which frightens the population not to participate [in demonstrations], but still, today, we manage to have citizens with courage who decided to appear, even knowing the stance of this government ", he observed.

In addition to the slogans, sung uninterruptedly during the march between Praça do Município and larga in front of the Madeiran parliament, the protesters held many boards and posters as inscriptions such as “Rewarded tourism, despised resident”, “The tourist comes and goes away, I live here and only worsens”, “Island to live or come to see?”, “Houses to live, not to speculate”, “The Government is on Mount and is Black until it says Enough”.

“ There is practically no offer in the medium and medium low market for housing, either to rent or to sell,” said Marina Pires, considering that the funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan channeled to the sector were “manifestly insufficient to respond to this crisis.”.

“ There must be government intervention at regional level, because this is not only the responsibility of the Government of the Republic”, he said.

More than 30 cities in Portugal today went to the street for the “right to live”, in the context of the national demonstration called by the platform Casa Para Viver, which requires, in particular, the reversal of the new rental law.

The proposal for a government law to change the urban lease regime – approved in general, with the vote in favour of PSD, IL and CDS-PP and the abstention of Aquisa – paves the way for more flexible contracts and faster evictions.