Rossio protest camp refuses to make way for the Christmas market. The city council had offered to let one tent stay
The Acampada de Lisboa housing protest camp, which has been on Rossio square since 17 October, will not make way for the Christmas market, which opens there on 13 November. On 5 November Lisbon City Council proposed a compromise: one symbolic tent would stay on the square, and the protest itself would move to Largo de São Domingos, Martim Moniz or Restauradores. On the night of 5–6 November the camp's general assembly rejected the offer: the protesters believe the council is preparing the ground to justify the police clearing the camp again (Notícias ao Minuto).
The council sent its proposal to Renata Cambra, a protester who won the right in court to sleep on the square (Notícias ao Minuto). As we have reported, the Lisbon Administrative Court has allowed the protest to continue with a tent, including overnight, until 24 November.
If you walk through the Baixa, over the coming weeks you will most likely see both tents and market stalls on Rossio. Storm Bruna will bring rain until 13 November; the camp has not yet decided whether to keep the tents up in bad weather and is discussing how to cover them with tarpaulins.
The camp is due to meet President António José Seguro, though no date has been set yet. The protesters want to talk about housing — repealing the rental law and capping rents — and about the persecution of immigrants who take part in the protests. Separately, the assembly demanded the resignation of the interior minister, Luís Neves, as the Porto camp had done earlier.
