Housing? “Government has no connection to reality”

A former coordinator of the Left Block, Mariana Mortagua, considered this Monday that the movement for housing has “legs to go too far”, noting that the crisis that motivates “these protests has accumulated a number of years” and that it is time to “hear, try other things”.

“ I think this movement has legs to go too far, because the crisis that motivates these protests has accumulated a number of years and its consequences are in sight“, he started by telling CNN Portugal in an interview. 

And he added: “ These protests will continue to increase, it seems to me that an immediate and desirable effect would be for the new lease law proposed by the government to be left on land.”. 

For the former Left Block leader, the movement is already taking effect. “It was enough weeks of protests for, apparently, André Ventura, who has the backbone of an invertebrate being, has already changed his mind and has dropped his support, or at least his tolerant position in the face of the government lease law,” he pointed out. 

“ I think the protests are already winning for that. This law will not see the light of day as it entered Parliament ", highlighted. 

Asked if we believe that we are facing the beginning of a broader social challenge and that the claims related to the right to Housing may be only the beginning, Mariana Mortagua said she believed that “yes”.

“It is a set of social circumstances that have been accumulating over time without having had a consistent social expression,” he said, stressing that “the increase in the cost of living translates into several elements, but housing is one of the main problems.”.

From the perspective of the former deputy, “the increase in the price of houses is brutal, both for those who buy and for those who rent, because it affects the lives of all generations and of all people who work in Portugal”. 

“ We have seen no measure to contain the price of houses, on the contrary, all measures that have been implemented are measures which, at best, are ineffective. At worst, they are counterproductive and increase the price of the houses ", considered.

Mariana Mortagua goes further, saying that “we have noticed now also in the response of the government, and of the Prime Minister in particular, who has no connection with society, with reality”. 

“ And we know why. A government of large real estate owners, a government of people who have real estate companies, who have another type of income, another type of social position and have no idea what it's like to live on a minimum wage and pay a rent. And worse, does not want to know what that means ", said. 

Faced with the fact that it has been a problem that has been dragging on for decades and is not an exclusive problem of the current Executive, Mortagua agreed, stressing that “it is a problem that has been going on for many years.”.

“ I think it is a fundamental problem in the housing crisis, which is that successive governments have avoided taking the measures that needed to be taken and that they can solve the housing crisis,” he said. 

And he added: “All governments, one way or another, have decided to wait for construction, especially private, and private construction does not arrive in time and what arrives is a luxury construction for high-income markets, and have decided to go through tax.”.

Mariana Mortagua stressed, however, that the tax route transferred “to the state budget the weight of a policy that should be containing prices rather than giving tax benefits to investment funds rather than subsidising high prices.” “Only these measures can stop the crisis,” he said.

“ We can take many turns, wait, take measures, more or less kind, but I am deeply convinced that until we have roofs for rents with fixed values according to the characteristics of the property, until we put a stop to the ground in the local accommodation, in the construction of hotels and even in the sale of houses for speculation situations and that are not housing, until we do this the prices of houses will not stop increasing”, he stressed.

“Protests have to do with deep discontent”

About the fact that the Left Block had political influence on the governments of António Costa and why it did not manage to stop the price escalation if it had a solution, the former coordinator of BE said that “there are generally parties from the centre, and from the right now, an idea about how far they are willing to go and so far successive governments, and that has been very visible, they think they can solve the problem of housing by tax and it is a fallacy, they will not solve and that has been in sight”.

“ That is why I think that this [Luís] Montenegro law and also the measures they have presented are a drop of water. In the face of all the evidence that with tax benefits, with the kind of measures that have been adopted we will not go there, in the face of all this evidence why insist? ", questioned. 

“ It is time for us to start considering other measures and we should start thinking about why they have not been considered so far. I think that in part by dogmatism and ideological fanaticism that says that we can always mess with taxes, but we can never touch the prices of houses ", he said. 

Asked if, if the rental law falls, there will be a demobilization of these protests, Mariana Mortagua noted that “these protests have to do with a deep discontent that goes far beyond the rental law.”.

“These injustices have been accumulated for years. Housing is a part of a democracy that has been emptied and of living conditions that are increasingly difficult,” he said. 

For Mortagua, Portugal “must have a future policy, have an economic development policy and a housing policy”, adding that if this law falls “it shows something that is very important for the future that is worthwhile”. 

“ When people come together and claim a future together, they get something. And they are already succeeding and this lease law will fall ", pointed out. 

On whether there has been political exploitation, the former deputy said that “the street is votes and the votes are street”, stressing that “these protests are being made by a generation of young people who do not have access to housing”.

Mariana Mortagua defended the adoption of a rent roof, since “what has been done so far does not work”. “I would say it’s time to dare, try other things,” he said.

The former coordinator of the Left Block, and also former deputy, reiterated that “there is a political choice that has been made and that must be contested. The political choice that caused the housing crisis is the same one that is causing the destruction of the Alentejo coast with luxury resorts, it is the same that is degrading the public purse with investment funds that do not pay taxes in Portugal.”. 

“It is an elite policy that governs for an elite and not for the interest of the country and for the majority,” he said.