João Veloso, the spokesman for young people camped in Lisbon’s Rossio square, has called for rent limits, repeal of the new lease law, and greater state intervention in the real estate market.
[France Reports 855 Arrests in Paris After Protests: Lisbon’s Camped in Rossio Square Spokperson Asks for a Ceiling on Rents](https://www.telesurenglish.net/lisbons-camped-in-rossio-square-spokperson-asks-for-a-ceiling-on-rents/)
In addition, he has proposed a general strike in Portugal to put pressure on the government of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro. “What we want are rent ceilings and an end to the new tenancy law,” sijo Veloso.
As he explained, the new regulations allow landlords to raise rents “100 or 200 euros from one year to the next,” while the previous legislation set a limit of 2%, he said.
PORTUGAL SE SUMA A LA OLA DE PROTESTAS EN EUROPA 🇵🇹🔥
Miles de manifestantes se concentraron en la plaza del Rossio, en Lisboa, para exigir el derecho a la vivienda y rechazar la precariedad laboral. La movilización cobra mayor fuerza tras la reciente represión policial en… pic.twitter.com/BnfH19r3ML
— Madelein Garcia (@madeleintlSUR) October 18, 2026
The spokesperson called for public measures to expand the supply of affordable housing. “What we also want are effective measures from the State, such as public housing, using public properties to rent to people,” he noted.
Veloso criticized the government for selling state properties to private companies, which, he denounced, then obtain significant profits from these properties.
The leader acknowledged the influence of housing protests held in Spain and France. “Of course, there is influence from the encampments in Spain and also from the mobilizations in other countries, such as in France,” he affirmed, and defended the need to coordinate mobilizations to demand measures that facilitate access to affordable housing.
The spokesman particularly urged the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), the main Portuguese trade union, to support the call.
“It is important that the CGTP listens to the people, takes to the streets and goes on a general strike so that we can effectively confront this Government and, who knows, bring down the Montenegro Government,” he declared.
The Rossio encampment is part of youth mobilizations for the right to housing, which have also taken place in other Portuguese cities, including Porto.
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