The Lisbon Encampment for the right to housing will resume its activities tomorrow, with a gathering followed by debates and a popular assembly in Parque das Nações, near the venue hosting the Web Summit technology conference.
Imitating the Web Summit’s design, the Lisbon Encampment has created Camp Summit, with a tent as its symbol.
“While on the other side, Lisbon is being sold as a luxury showcase by the sea, those who live on their wages cannot afford the rent. That’s why we set up our own summit”, the organisation explains, on a page created for the purpose and on its existing social media accounts.
“The future starts here. Not there”, it adds, in response to the Web Summit’s slogan (“the future starts here”).
This will have been an unusual summit for all the ‘techies’ who flocked to Lisbon this year, in that today’s programme was lost entirely, due to Storm Charles. Tomorrow’s ‘restart’ will also be the final day of the event.
The CampSummit gathering meanwhile is scheduled for 5.30pm on Alameda dos Oceanos, in front of the Vasco da Gama Shopping Center, and near the entrance to WebSummit.
The Encampment will later move to Oriente Station for debates on the ‘right to the city’ and ‘digital technologies in the service of democracy’, and the usual popular assembly will take place.
“Lisbon City Council wants to sell 10 public plots of land for €60 million”, protesters claim, denouncing the fact that this amount is similar to what the City Council has already allocated to WebSummit over the years.
It is unclear where the encampment will move to next, if indeed it does set up a permanent base elsewhere in the city.
Mayor Moedas has offered three locations after insisting that the Christmas Market take precedence in Rossio (where the encampment had been previously).
But what is clear that protesters will be out in force on Saturday, when there is a new demonstration (again for the right to affordable housing), promoted by the Casa Para Viver Platform – and their demands (for a reversal of the government’s proposed rental law, a halt to housing purchases by real estate funds, and “truly affordable” rent caps) are being echoed by the country’s left wing parties.
Source: SIC Notícias/ Lusa
