Dozens met in Funchal in solidarity with demonstrators

Atens of people gathered today in the Funchal Municipal Garden, in a popular assembly on housing shortages, and approved a vote of solidarity with the protesters targeted by the police force in Lisbon and Porto.

The adverse weather conditions that plague Madeira, with heavy rainfall, affected the adherence to the initiative, and the few participants were gathered on the stage of the amphitheater of that garden.

The protest vote was unanimously approved by about half a hundred present, and the importance of participating in the national initiative scheduled for November 14 was highlighted and a new meeting was scheduled for Sunday, day 8, starting at 17:00, in the same space.

The group spokesperson, Inês Tecedeiro, said that several associations in Madeira are calling for participation in this action on November 14th, and a great adherence is expected.

He acknowledged that regional reality is different from national reality. “We are all Portuguese”, he stressed, however, the need to support those who “share the same struggle” in combating housing shortages.

Virtually at the same time, from 04:30 today, the Public Security Police (PSP) advanced on the protesters concentrated in the camps in Lisbon and Porto to demobilize, removing tents and detaining 13 people, with several wounded, including police.

In Lisbon, just minutes after the start of the police load of PSP, with petards and batonadas, Praça D. Pedro V was empty. The protesters were kicked out by the various accesses to Rossio.

In Porto, PSP destroyed the camp set up in Praça D. João I. The protesters resisted, shouting that their action was peaceful, as the police force advanced, using batons and dogs, pushing them to Dr. Magellan Street Lemos

In Madeira, the Porta a Porta movement was also today contacting the population in the municipality of Ribeira Brava, having the spokesman, Tânia Sousa, declared to be of general knowledge that there is “a serious crisis in housing”.

“ Rents are getting more expensive, buying a house has become almost impossible and many families, even working, can't afford a house they can afford, he said.

In the statement released, the movement highlights that “ Funchal is the third city in the country where it is more expensive to buy or rent a house, and for many families the housing costs that already exceed 80% of the household income”.

It points out that social protest increases against “the size of the housing problem and the lack of adequate responses by the Government of the Republic of Regional Governments and local authorities”.

For this reason, in Madeira, it argues that it is “fundamental to express the just struggle for the right to housing and to demand the rejection of the government’s proposal, which is a genuine package of measures that are conducive to evictions contrary to the interests of tenants”.

The Porta a Porta invites the population to the national initiative on 14 November, at 11:00, on Dr.Fernão de Ornelas street, in Funchal.

“ We want to show that Madeira does not remain silent in the face of this crisis and that together we can demand solutions”, he stresses, reinforcing that “this fight belongs to everyone and to everyone, so that we can fight to put a dignified future and put future generations”.