Parliament President Criticizes Encampments as Protesters Maintain Tents
José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, the President of the Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República), criticized the ongoing housing demonstrations, arguing that popular assemblies do not solve problems and urging political parties not to transfer legislative matters to the streets. Speaking during an official visit to Mozambique, Aguiar-Branco stated that solutions must come exclusively through representative democracy in parliament.
The remarks follow a vote by Lisbon housing rights activists to maintain their tent encampment in Rossio square despite poor weather and municipal pressure. Organizer Renata Cambra had proposed relocating the Lisbon protest closer to parliament, but demonstrators opted to remain. In Porto, more than 70 tents remain pitched at Praça D. João I, where protests over rising rents and home prices have entered their second month.
Renata Cambra is a Portuguese politician, educator, and the national spokesperson for the Socialist Alternative Movement (Movimento Alternativa Socialista or MAS), an anti-capitalist political party. She is a prominent activist involved in organizing civic demonstrations focused on housing affordability and labor rights.
José Pedro Aguiar-Branco is the President of the Assembly of the Republic, Portugal’s parliament, elected to the post in 2024. A lawyer from Porto and a senior PSD figure, he previously served as Minister of Justice and as Minister of National Defence.
