Portugal cannot return to the shacks

The debate over shantytowns and illegal neighborhoods has once again ignited public opinion in Portugal, especially after the demolitions carried out by the Loures City Council. This isn't a new topic, but the way some politicians have reacted to law enforcement is alarming. Clearly, Portugal cannot allow the return of shantytowns, it cannot turn a blind eye to illegal construction, and it cannot tolerate radical rhetoric that devalues decades of collective effort to eradicate this reality.

The mayor of Loures made a difficult but necessary decision by ordering the demolition of illegal buildings that not only violated urban planning regulations but also posed serious risks to public health and safety. The shacks, often made of sheet metal and wood, are breeding grounds for insalubrity, lacking basic amenities, and posing a real danger in the event of fire or collapse. This is not just a legal matter, but also a matter of protecting lives and ensuring a dignified and safe urban environment for all. The municipality ensures that affected families are being supported by social services and that housing solutions are being sought on a case-by-case basis. This demonstrates that this is not a policy of blind eviction, but rather an attempt to reconcile the law with social support.

However, this case has become the target of unnecessary political controversy. Socialist Party MP Isabel Moreira criticized her own party for supporting these measures, going so far as to claim that some internal positions had "far-right traits." This statement is not only unfair but dangerous. Obeying the law and ensuring security is not extremism. It is the minimum required in a state governed by the rule of law. Isabel Moreira, by adopting this inflammatory rhetoric, creates a false narrative in which any firm stance is seen as oppression. This type of radicalism not only discredits the Socialist Party but also undermines citizens' trust in balanced and fair solutions. Instead of uniting, it divides. Instead of proposing solutions, it generates ideological noise.

The most absurd thing is that these criticisms seem to ignore the enormous effort Portugal has made over the past few decades to eradicate slums. In the 1980s and 1990s, thousands of families lived in inhumane conditions, in shacks scattered around Lisbon, Porto, and other cities. The government, through the Special Rehousing Program (PER), invested millions to ensure these people could live with dignity. It was a civilizational advance: Portugal left behind an image of backwardness and poverty, offering housing with basic amenities and integrating these families into the urban fabric. How is it possible that now there are those, directly or indirectly, who seem to advocate maintaining or even returning to this reality? Isn't this a very serious social and political setback?

Illegal neighborhoods are not a problem exclusive to Loures. On the South Bank, in municipalities like Almada, there are areas like the Pinajóia neighborhood that face exactly the same situation: precarious, substandard housing built outside the law. It is urgent that the State reconsider these problems with seriousness and courage. But that does not mean allowing everything to remain as it is. The solution is not to turn a blind eye to illegality, but to firmly enforce the law while offering real alternatives to families. Supporting the existence of shantytowns in the name of a misinterpreted "humanism" is, in practice, perpetuating poverty and exclusion. From a moral standpoint, no one advocates for people to be abandoned. It is the State's obligation to guarantee the right to housing, but this right cannot be confused with the legitimization of illegal constructions. True social justice lies in providing decent alternatives, not in keeping people living in miserable conditions. By attacking those who obey the law, Isabel Moreira and others with similar rhetoric end up disrespecting precisely those who most need concrete solutions. It's a facile, populist rhetoric that achieves little.

The case of Loures should serve as an example. It takes political courage to say "enough" to the uncontrolled growth of illegal neighborhoods. Decades of effort to eradicate shantytowns cannot be wasted because of blind ideologies and inflammatory rhetoric. True humanism demands action, effective housing policies, but it also demands respect for the law. Portugal cannot return to being a land of shantytowns. And anyone who, consciously or unconsciously, fosters this idea is betraying the values of progress and dignity that were so hard to achieve.