Residents who are going to be evicted in Loures invite the mayor to lunch

The issue at hand is the removal of 99 people who live in 15 self-built houses and nine apartments in a clandestine neighborhood in the parish of Santa Iria da Azóia, in Loures, in the district of Lisbon.

The removal of these people was scheduled for the beginning of December last year, but the Loures City Council agreed to postpone the deadline until February 28 , following a request from the ambassador of São Tomé and Príncipe, who has been mediating this process.

Loures City Council extends deadline for families living in precarious and illegal housing to find housing until February 28

Three days before the deadline, the Vida Justa association, which has been following this case and supporting residents, announced the existence of an invitation addressed to the president of the Loures City Council, Ricardo Leão (PS) , and the vice-president, Sónia Paixão , for a lunch to be held on Friday in the neighborhood.

“The residents organized themselves and invited the president and vice-president. It is a lunch organized by them to discuss the situation of a solution to their eviction, without alternative housing. The lunch will be calulu, a typical dish from São Tomé, ” Gonçalo Filipe, from Vida Justa, told Lusa.

The invitation addressed to the mayors of Loures is made in a letter in which these residents call for a halt to the planned evictions and demolitions until there is a housing alternative for everyone.

“We ask your excellencies to stop the evictions and demolitions without alternative housing and to sit down with us to work together on a new way to solve the problem. Housing is very expensive, we have no way of paying rent that allows us to continue working in our jobs,” reads the letter to which Lusa had access.

According to the Vida Justa association, among the residents who will be evicted are 21 children, four sick people and a pregnant woman.

The Lusa news agency tried, without success, to find out from Loures City Council whether the invitation to lunch was accepted .

Regarding this process, the source from the local authority referred to previous statements that indicate the “commitment” of Loures City Council to helping these families find alternative housing in the private rental market.