Court suspends shanty town demolition in Loures
The Socialist-run councils of Loures and Amadora ordered the demolitions, prompting accusations that they were adopting far-right tactics in the run-up to October’s local elections.
Chaotic scenes unfolded in the Talude Militar neighborhood in Loures on Monday, when residents, including women and children, tried to stop the demolition of their self‑built homes ordered by the municipality.
Some residents sat and even laid on the ground, while armed police, dressed in riot gear, forcibly removed residents from the area as bulldozers moved in.
By the end of the day, 51 structures had been razed, with the municipality confirming plans to demolish 64 homes, where a total of 161 people live.
The Talude neighborhood in Loures is a self-built community, mainly inhabited by families of Cape Verdean and São Toméan origin who worked in construction and settled in the area from the 1980s onward.
Residents have been waiting for rehousing since 1993, as their wages are far too low to meet the costs of today’s housing market.
“The Loures City Council will not allow the construction and continuation of this reality of shanties in Loures,” said Paula Magalhães, the councilor responsible for the Municipal Police, speaking to Lusa.
She added that residents “were given the 48 hours’ notice required by law.”
Following the demolitions, around one hundred adults and more than 60 children from the Talude neighborhood were left homeless.
They spent the night in tents and in a local church.
Meanwhile, in Amadora, 8 out of 22 illegal constructions on Estrada Militar da Mina (formerly Bairro de Santa Filomena) were also torn down.
The municipality said the demolitions were necessary to avoid undoing years of housing policy progress, and that Monday’s operation proceeded “as smoothly as possible in such a demanding process.”
Court suspends the demolitions
However, on Tuesday, the Administrative Court of Lisbon suspended further demolitions of informal homes in the Talude Militar neighborhood, in Loures.
The decision followed a petition filed by a lawyer on behalf of 14 residents, challenging the legality of the municipal operation.
The court ruled that Loures City Hall is now “prevented from executing the act of demolition” and must avoid any action that contradicts the order, noting the case qualifies as a “situation of special urgency.”
Despite the court’s ruling, bulldozers resumed work briefly, demolishing at least four more homes before stopping as officials assessed the injunction.
Moreover, on Wednesday, Loures mayor Ricardo Leão assured that the demolitions of the remaining illegal constructions will still go ahead.
Strong backlash
According to the movement Vida Justa, which has been accompanying residents’ protests, Loures City Hall has not yet presented any “viable” solution.
Amnesty International is also monitoring the demolitions in Loures and Amadora “with concern,” admitting that they may involve “human rights violations.”
According to Amnesty, notices of the planned demolitions “were only posted late on (the previous) Friday,” making it impossible for residents to file timely appeals, particularly in court.
The local communist (CDU) party, who previously led the municipality, also condemned the operation, accusing the socialist-led municipality of worsening an already acute housing crisis.
They highlighted that no social workers were present during evictions, leaving families without proper support.
Divisions emerge within the Socialist Party
However, the strongest opposition came from within the Socialist Party, given that both municipalities are led by party members, Ricardo Leão in Loures and Vítor Ferreira in Amadora.
On Tuesday, a group of Socialists including former ministers and current lawmakers, published an open letter expressing “deep indignation and concern” over the demolition of shanty homes in the Talude Militar neighborhood in Loures, authorized by Socialist mayors.
The signatories denounce what they describe as “the demolition of the roofs over dozens of families’ heads,” carried out without guarantees of dignified alternatives.
They said that the demolitions go against the “constitutional and statutory principles” and “tarnishes the credibility and the ethical commitment that the Socialist Party must uphold before the citizens.”
Conversely, the PS parliamentary leader, Eurico Brilhante Dias, defended the Mayor of Loures and placed the blame for the housing crisis on the Government.
Meanwhile, the former Mayor of Lisbon, João Soares, son of the historic leader Mário Soares, was particularly critical of his party colleagues’ initiative.
“Under no circumstances would I sign that open letter, which I consider to be in profoundly bad taste, especially coming from fellow members of the Socialist Party.”
The new Socialist leader José Luís Carneiro was eventually forced to address the issue.
Caught between mayors facing elections in three months and the party’s “values,” José Luís Carneiro said he “understood the difficulties of municipalities faced with precarious constructions,” but called for solutions “with humanity and social sensitivity,” ensuring “dignity, particularly for the most fragile and vulnerable.”
He also pointed to the national level, stating that “clandestine construction is not a solution to housing problems” and that, therefore, “the Government and the Ministries of Social Security and Housing have a duty not to turn a blind eye to the difficulties that metropolitan mayors are facing once again.”
President’s reaction
Asked about the demolitions, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said it is important to understand the seriousness of the situation in the Talude neighborhood in Loures and to find a solution.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stated that “I have no power over local government,” but stressed the need to answer several questions about the 161 residents living in precarious housing in the neighborhood.
“We need to know who they are. Do they work? Do they pay into Social Security? How long have they been there? (…) Why is this problem only coming up now? Or did it come up months ago?” he asked.
The head of state said these and other questions must be addressed. “Otherwise, we are left with the feeling that we patch things up here and there, but the overall problem is not being solved.”
Investigation opened
The Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation on Wednesday into the demolition of dozens of homes in the Talude Militar neighborhood in Loures, in the Lisbon district, where more than 160 people were evicted.
The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) confirmed on Wednesday, July 16, that it has launched an inquiry into the process of demolishing precarious houses in the Talude Militar neighborhood, ordered by the local council in Loures.
“In light of the information released in recent days by the media, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Lisbon North district has decided to open an investigation,” an official PGR source told RTP.