Ice track on D. João I Square? Camped meets with local council on Tuesday

A Camped in Porto agreed to meet on Tuesday with the local authority to discuss the "possible compatibility" of the protest in Praça D. João I and the placement of an ice rink at the site for Christmas, it was decided today.

The decision to accept to attend a “technical meeting” with the City Hall of Porto, giving a positive response to an invitation from the local council, was taken at the popular assembly this evening, which due to the bad weather did not take place in the center of the square, but in the arcades of one of the buildings in front.

In statements to Lusa, one of the spokespersons in the movement that since October 10 is in protest in the square Dom João I for the right to housing, João Silvério, explained that the meeting on Tuesday will be “only to discuss the compatibility of the camp with the skating ring” and said that the meeting will be attended by the mayor, Pedro Duarte, as well as other members of the meeting.

The Port House wants to install in Dom João I Square an ice rink included in the Christmas market for this year, clue that in previous years was installed in Largo Amor de Perdição, in the Garden of Cordoaria.

“The House thinks it will hardly be compatible [keep the protest in the square and install an ice rink on site]. We also feel that the skating rink, already being decided and having gone to another place, that it makes no sense for the House to be trying to put it here in the square again, just because we are here", he said.

João Silverio said that the decision of the local authority seems to be “a little bit of political persecution”.

"Given this, our goal with tomorrow's meeting is to understand exactly what the House's proposals are on the issue. We will hear what the House will say and then we will make a decision on this”, he explained.

He said: “If the House, the only thing it has to offer us, is violence, we will certainly gather and debate about this violence offered by the House, which is what it has offered us so far,” he said.

This year, unlike the previous three years, they were not published in Diário da República (DR) or in the portal Based on the competitions or contracts relating to the hiring of the ice rink, he consulted Lusa.

According to the House of Porto, the decision to install an ice rink in Praça D. João I, scheduled for Friday, was made before starting the Camp.

In this evening's assembly it was also decided to "keep the protest, the tents and stay overnight" on the spot and also relocate the popular assembly of Tuesday to the Galeries Geraldo da Silva, a few meters from the Square Dom João I, and Wednesday to the Station of São Bento.

The current protests against the housing crisis began in Porto on October 10 and expanded to Lisbon, but have also motivated concentrations in other cities.

The PSP's action to disperse the campgrounds and remove the tents in Rossio, in Lisbon, and in Praça D. João I, in Porto, led to dozens of arrests and caused dozens of wounded, motivating criticism from various quadrants.

The Public Prosecutor has, however, asked the Constitutional Court to assess the constitutionality of the 1974 rule that states that a demonstration has the time limit at 00:30.

The protesters demand, among other things, the reversal of the new rental law, a stop to housing purchase by real estate funds and “truely accessible” roofs to income.