Housing-rights demonstrators spent the night in central Lisbon and Porto after Saturday's nationwide marches against housing costs and the rising cost of living, according to RTP. Thousands of people had taken to the streets in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra earlier in the day, and many of them set up tents rather than go home.
In Lisbon, tents went up in the Rossio to see protesters through the night. In Porto, demonstrators initially decided to camp again in the Praça D. João I, but the movement later chose not to stay there until morning, the Jornal de Negócios reported.
Why it matters
The overnight camps turn a one-day show of anger into a continuing presence in two city centres. The protests were organised around the right to housing and the cost of living, and RTP reports that they drew thousands of participants across three cities. The scale, and the fact that people were prepared to sleep outdoors, puts pressure on a government already facing questions about how it handled the Porto demonstration.
Injuries in Porto and a minister under pressure
R7 reported that the housing protest in Porto ended with 37 people injured. The circumstances behind those injuries were not set out in the reporting available.
Pedro Duarte, the minister, softened his tone at a point when a petition is circulating that calls for his resignation, according to the Diário de Notícias. RTP reports that the minister said he was following events "with enormous concern" and acknowledged that when people take to the streets it is because there is "pain." The reporting does not specify which portfolio he holds.
The left-wing party Livre is demanding to know who gave the orders in the early hours of the morning in Porto, the Observador reported. The party also said an inquiry by IGAI, Portugal's internal security inspectorate, "makes complete sense."
Parties join the debate over a new housing law
Paulo Raimundo, the Communist Party leader, criticised a new housing law as having been written to suit real estate funds, according to RTP. Leaders of left-wing parties at the protest played down remarks by Montenegro, RTP reported; the reporting does not give the content of those remarks.
The marches were organised with the involvement of the CGTP, Portugal's main trade union confederation, RTP reports. The demonstrations took place on Saturday, 17 October, with the overnight camps following into Sunday morning.
What to watch: whether the camps in the Rossio and the Praça D. João I hold beyond a second night, how the IGAI inquiry into the Porto operation takes shape, and whether the petition against Pedro Duarte gathers enough signatures to force a political response.
