"Those who comply with the rules must be sure that the municipality is on their side. Those who live outside the law must know that we will always act firmly, within the law and in close coordination with the competent entities," the mayor of Entroncamento, in the district of Santarém, told Lusa.

The operation took place on 21 July in the Frederico Ulrich neighbourhood, involving the City Hall, E-Redes and the PSP (Public Security Police), and is part of the strategy that the executive has been developing to combat illegal occupations and clandestine connections in the municipal housing stock, at a time when the renovation of that neighbourhood is taking place under the Local Housing Strategy (ELH). According to Nelson Cunha (Chega), the inspection was initially planned for six residences but ended up covering 25 after E-Redes technicians, during door-to-door verification, identified clandestine electricity connections and, in most cases, water connections.

Distinct situations

The mayor explained that the operation focused on two distinct situations: municipal tenants with contracts who maintained clandestine connections to the services and about half a dozen municipal houses illegally occupied, whose cases are in court.

"That wasn't a power cut. It was a restoration of legality," he argued, stating that the intervention aimed to "end the problem at its root," eliminating clandestine connections whenever technically possible.

On the eve of the operation, the municipality partially damaged the roofs of two vacant social housing units after a family from Elvas attempted to illegally occupy one of them, and they have since left the city.

Nelson Cunha explained that the properties are part of the housing complex scheduled for demolition under the ELH (Local Housing Strategy) and that the intervention aimed to prevent further attempts at occupation.

The neighbourhood will be deactivated.

The mayor said that the Frederico Ulrich neighbourhood will be progressively deactivated, with eight housing blocks under construction, financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), intended for the resettlement of families residing in that housing complex.

Nelson Cunha also indicated that the municipality currently has about 200 homes on a waiting list for social housing, arguing that the management of the municipal housing stock should prioritise "those who really need it" and comply with the access rules.

"It is unacceptable that there are citizens who fulfil their obligations while others benefit from illegal situations for years," he said, considering that the municipality's actions aim to "restore legality," ensure "that the rules are the same for everyone," and guarantee a policy of "social justice."

This was the second operation of its kind carried out by the municipality in less than three months.

Water supply cut-off

In May, the Entroncamento City Council cut off the water and electricity supply to four illegally occupied municipal houses and announced that it would maintain inspection actions to combat improper occupations and clandestine connections.

The mayor stated that new inspection actions may be carried out in other regions of the city, guaranteeing that the municipality will continue to act to "maintain order and social justice" and prevent new irregular occupations.

According to Nelson Cunha, the operation proceeded without significant incidents, despite some verbal threats, due to the device set up by the PSP (Public Security Police).

Threats to employees

When questioned about threats directed at employees during previous inspection actions, Nelson Cunha confirmed that the municipality is gathering quotes to reinforce security at the entrance of the City Council, after episodes of intimidation that he attributed to people covered by these operations.