Mortagua criticizes Costa’s “deafening silence” on 2024 rents and leaves challenge

The coordinator of Bloco de Esquerda this Sunday called on the Prime Minister to “say what will happen to rents in 2024” after demonstrations in the country for the right to housing, and criticized the “deafening silence” of António Costa.

“Here I leave a very specific and very clear challenge to the Prime Minister: he must talk to the thousands of people who have fled the country. [à rua] for the right to minimum wage housing, that is, what will happen to rents in 2024. Calm down the people now who don’t know what will happen,” challenged Mariana Mortagua.

At a press conference at the end of the meeting of the National Council of BE – the highest body between congresses – Mariana Mortagua said that the housing crisis was the central topic of discussion of this body, and began by welcoming past housing demonstrations. in different parts of the country on Saturday.

The bloc leader said BE would “make very concrete proposals to parliament” on the issue and called on all parties to “take a stand and respond to the thousands of people taking to the streets for the right to housing.”

“We believe that it is the duty of those who make policies and the duty of the government. Despite the fact that it is the duty of the government, all we have heard from the Prime Minister is silence, deafening silence about housing and the difficulties of those who live with a rope in their throats,” he criticized.

Stressing that “there are thousands of people who do not know what will happen to their income next year,” Mortagua stressed that “the government knows that the increase will be 7%” if the executive branch does not set a rent renewal limit. in 2024 and “knew about it for over a month.”

“I realized this the moment BE found out about it and presented a proposal to stop this increase in 2024 and despite knowing this, I said nothing. The government controls time, it controls the agenda politically, it plays with thousands of people. people who have a noose around their necks and don’t know if they can continue to pay for their housing and can’t say what will happen to their rent in 2024,” he criticized.

Mariana Mortagua was also questioned about the unveiling of the “More Housing” package by the President of the Republic – after the first veto of the head of state – and the fact that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that he “prefers everything, even if in short, nothing.”

“People who yesterday [no sábado] They took to the streets, they don’t need something short, they need measures to regulate their lives. If house prices don’t fall, Portugal will continue to create emigrants every day,” he warned.