On 27 October, President António José Seguro called for urgent solutions to the housing crisis through dialogue rather than violence, announcing that he would meet with experts in the sector.

According to a statement published on the official website of the Presidency of the Republic, “President António José Seguro met with a range of organisations and experts linked to the housing sector” at Belém Palace.

Those attending included “academics, tenants’ and landlords’ associations, representatives of the construction and public works sector, property developers and investors, as well as professional bodies in the field, public housing associations and local government representatives”, the statement said.

Seguro’s statements

On 27 October, following police charges against housing rights demonstrators, António José Seguro addressed journalists and answered questions about the incident, saying he had been unhappy with what he had seen but was waiting for the results of investigations into police conduct.

“Portuguese culture is a culture of dialogue. It is not a culture of violence or confrontation. I did not like what I saw in the recent footage, particularly in Lisbon last Saturday,” he said at the end of a visit to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) in Lisbon.

“I did not like what I saw, and I am convinced that most Portuguese people felt the same, because these are not images one would normally expect to see in an established democracy,” the President said.

The President highlighted the situation facing young people in Portugal, describing them as “a blocked generation”, and argued that access to housing must be urgently addressed by ensuring that homes are available to buy or rent for “all budgets”.

António José Seguro called for “dialogue as a solution to problems, and never violence”, urging the Government and parliamentary parties to work together to find solutions.

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