The mayor of Porto has invited housing protesters to a meeting next Tuesday, according to RTP, following a night of confrontations between demonstrators and security forces in Lisbon and Porto. Police moved in on the camps after warning that the dialogue would not be open-ended, RTP reports. The broadcaster described the scenes as a repeat of earlier violence in both cities.
The unrest centres on Portugal's housing crisis, which has driven protesters to set up encampments in the two cities. At least 13 people were detained, according to the reporting, and 13 police officers were injured in the camps.
Why it matters
The clashes have pushed housing onto the centre of the national political agenda and drawn responses from across the spectrum. The President of the Republic has asked for information "with all possible detail" about what happened overnight, RTP reports. The PS has called Interior Minister Luís Neves to Parliament urgently to explain the police operations, and the PCP has requested an urgent debate on police conduct at the camps. Livre has demanded the interior minister's resignation and says it has shared footage of police charges with organisations.
Neves said his position "is permanently at the disposal of the prime minister," according to the reporting. Ventura accused Montenegro of "total incompetence" and argued for "emergency proposals." The CDS said protesters "had several opportunities to avoid what happened," while the interior ministry said a small minority of demonstrators was undermining compliance with the law.
What happened in Lisbon and Porto
In Lisbon, police said demonstrators at Rossio threw bottles and pyrotechnic items. An organisation supporting the protest said at least six people were injured in the capital, three of whom were said to be hospitalised; a separate statement from the Lisbon camp said ten people were in hospital. The camp's popular assembly ended with calls to keep up the struggle, and protesters were deciding in that assembly whether to accept a meeting with Pedro Duarte. The Secretary of State for Housing has said she is available to meet organisations from the camps.
In Porto, hundreds of people gathered in Praça D. João I, where the local camp has called a new concentration. Seven protesters detained by the PSP in Porto were released, with the defence describing the force used as "disproportionate." A CMTV camera operator was struck with a baton by the PSP in Porto, according to the reporting.
The PSP says it has images of three plainclothes officers being assaulted in Porto. A police union said a plainclothes officer was "forced" to "resort to a firearm as a deterrent element" when demonstrators approached; the officer drew the weapon but did not fire, according to the account. The Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture said it is too early to say whether police overstepped.
The protesters' legal defence plans to file a criminal complaint against the interior minister and the national director of the PSP. Luís Neves has already spoken with the prime minister and the Justice Ombudsman, according to the reporting.
What to watch
Attention now turns to Tuesday's meeting in Porto and to the parliamentary appearances being sought by the PS and PCP, which will test how far the government is willing to account for the police operations.
