About 50 people protest in Funchal for affordable housing

Cerca of 50 people participated today in a demonstration for the right to housing in Funchal, organized by the regional center of Madeira do Movimento Porta a Porta, within the national protest that takes place in 32 cities.

“ We are here for the right to housing, better housing, affordable rents”, explained the spokesman of the movement, Tânia Sousa, saying that, in the autonomous region, the rents are uncontrolled.

“ One cannot rent a house, one cannot buy a house, because a T0 in Funchal is at 200, 250 thousand euros, and the wages we receive are not compatible ", he observed.

The protesters, many affections to trade unions from various sectors, to the PCP and BE, concentrated on Rua Fernão de Ornelas, one of the busiest in the capital of Madeira, holding posters with registrations such as “Houses to live, not to speculate”, “The cost of income increases, the people can’t take it”, “+ neighbors – tourism”.

They also set up a tent on the street and put a plastic skeleton in front of a chair with a sign that said, “What to do? Pay the rent or eat?”

“ This is the displeasure that we express here, also in solidarity with the demonstrations on the continent”, Tânia Sousa said.

The spokesman of the regional center of the Porta a Porta Movement said, on the other hand, that he expected more people in the concentration, but considered that people in Madeira “are a little ashamed to go out and give their faces”.

“Here, in Madeira, we have one government, it is the PSD [which has ruled the region since 1976], and then everyone is afraid. Many people work in the government, many people work in the [municipal] chambers and then are afraid to give their face”, supported, reinforcing: “One of the problems here in Madeira is the fear of reprisals.”

The Porta a Porta a Porta Movement advocates the creation of specific legislation for the autonomous region, to facilitate access to housing, alerting to the increase in rents, real estate speculation and the “increasing difficulties” by families, young people and workers in the face of rising cost of living.

“ We are an island, we are an isolated world. There should be much more help here in Madeira than on the continent,” Tânia Sousa said.

In addition to the concentration promoted by the Door to Door Movement, a demonstration 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, was also called for today.

The protest begins with a concentration in Praça do Município, in the center of Funchal, following a march to the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, where various cultural activities will take place.

“The Door to Door Movement will also participate in the event scheduled for the afternoon, because the fight and the cause are the same,” Tânia Sousa said.

“They will not rob us of the right to live” is the common motto of 32 protests for the right to housing that will happen in Angra do Heroísmo, Aveiro, Beja, Braga, Bragança, Castelo Branco, Caldas da Rainha, Coimbra, Covilhã, Évora, Faro, Funchal, Grândola, Guarda, Guimarães, Horta, Leiria, Lisbon, Marinha Grande, Nazaré, Ponta Delgada, Portalegre, Portimão, Samora Correia, Santarém, Setúbal, Sines, Torres Novas, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real and Viseu.