General strike? “All forms of struggle are on the table, but...”

Presists at the demonstration in Lisbon, the secretary-general of CGTP-IN, Tiago Oliveira, admits that all forms of struggle are on the table, but argues that not all “pass a general strike”.

At a time when thousands of people of all ages occupy Avenida da Liberdade, in Lisbon, in a protest that calls for a general strike for housing, Tiago Oliveira assumes that the “increase of the struggle” is justified, but considers that a “general strike must be built to ensure its success and not all forms of struggle go through a general strike”.

“ All forms of struggle are on the table, we have to build step by step and a general strike is not built without ensuring its success”, explained, in statements to RTP News.

“The main appeal that is present in this demonstration today is to combat inequalities, to respond to those who are the longings of those who work, of those who look forward to a better life, particularly in terms of access to housing, namely the response to wages, which are low, the brutal increase in the cost of living,” he continued. “What is worrying youth, those who work, is that we see in our daily lives the difficulties to grow and there is no answer to these difficulties. And what these men and women are saying here today is that they expect from the government a concrete policy that responds to the housing crisis, the crisis of rising cost of living, the crisis of speculation, the fuel crisis...”

“ This is what CGTP has said over and over again: we have a government completely away from reality,” he said.

Hundreds of demonstrators are on the streets today in Lisbon, in response to the protest called for today by the Camp, to demand dignified housing for all people.

“House is a right, houses are to live” is the phrase inscribed on a poster that summarizes the claims that have led to the streets thousands of people.

Among the protesters are people of all ages.

These demonstrations for better living conditions and dignified housing began in Porto, on the 10th, with dozens of tents set up in Praça D. João I.

In the early hours of the 15th a police charge in that square caused nearly 40 wounded and forced the dismantling of the Camp.

Already in Lisbon the Campadida settled in Praça D. Pedro IV after the demonstration organized by CGTP on the 17th and then remained until the police intervention early last Tuesday, in which the police dismantled tents, detained 55 people and seized assets of activists.

On Friday, the Camp of Lisbon decided, in a popular assembly, to reassemble tents today, after the demonstration, which will end in Rossio.