Lisbon Mothers Hold Silent Vigil at Rossio Against Police Charges
Mães pela Acampada holds a silent vigil in Lisbon on Saturday against police charges on housing protesters. Times, route and what the protesters want.
A group of parents and relatives of young housing protesters, Mães pela Acampada (Mothers for the Encampment), is holding a silent vigil in central Lisbon on Saturday evening against police charges on the protest camps. People will gather at 19:00 in Praça dos Restauradores and walk without speaking to Rossio, where they plan to form a human chain around the square until 21:00.
The vigil follows operations by the PSP (Portugal’s public security police) to clear tents from Rossio and from Praça D. João I in Porto. Those operations ended in police charges that left dozens of people injured, according to Observador and ECO, and the IGAI (the Interior Ministry’s General Inspectorate, which oversees police conduct) has opened an inquiry into how officers acted.
Times and route for Saturday’s vigil
The group set out a detailed plan in a statement reported by both outlets:
- 19:00: gathering in the part of Praça dos Restauradores that faces Rossio.
- 19:30: a silent sit-in, with participants holding battery candles, small torches or their phone lights.
- 20:30: a silent walk to Rossio.
- Until 21:00: a human chain around Rossio, with people facing the road.
The silence is meant to be broken only by two or three short songs from a choir, spaced through the evening. Organizers asked people to bring warm clothes and a blanket or a piece of cardboard to sit on the ground. There will be no slogans or flags, the group said.
Who Mães pela Acampada are
The group formed after the police charges. Most of its members are mothers and family members of the young people camping in the squares, and it says its aim is to defend the right to protest peacefully. In its statement it called for an immediate end to police charges on the camps and for respect for freedom of expression.
“We are not against anyone, we are against all forms of violence,” the group said, adding that it would come back as many times as needed.
Christmas market request to city hall
On Thursday the group asked Carlos Moedas (PSD), mayor of Lisbon and head of the Câmara Municipal de Lisboa (Lisbon city hall), to move the Christmas market planned for Rossio to Praça do Município. It described the alternative as an equally central site that represents the city. The group said it does not oppose the Christmas fair itself. No reply from city hall was reported.
What the housing protesters want
The current wave of housing protests started in Porto on Oct. 10 and spread to Lisbon, with gatherings in other cities since. Among their demands, protesters want:
- the new rental law reversed;
- limits on property purchases by real estate investment funds;
- rent caps that are, in their words, “truly affordable.”
What this means for people in Lisbon
On Saturday evening, between 19:00 and 21:00, people will be seated on the ground at Restauradores and then lined up along the road around Rossio. The vigil is the latest public response to the camp clearances, which are now under IGAI review. For tenants, the protests keep the new rental law and the role of investment funds in Lisbon’s housing market in the public debate, while the question of where the Christmas market goes remains open with city hall.
Sources: Observador, ECO
