Musicians and shopkeepers of the Stop shopping center will gather this Monday from 15:00 in front of Porto City Hall to demonstrate the importance of this “cultural centre”, where more than a hundred shops were closed last week.
Last Tuesday’s closure of more than a hundred Stop shops prompted musicians and shop owners to call a demonstration this Monday, the day the municipal executive meets.
The rally is scheduled for 3:00 pm in front of the Porto city hall, and at 7:30 pm, demonstrators are to march to the mall, where for more than 20 years various factions have been used as rehearsal rooms or studios.
A meeting is also scheduled for this Monday in Lisbon, which will start at 15:00, next to the National Theater of D. Maria II, as reported on the Manifestation for the stop on the social network Instagram.
The demonstration was initially aimed at claiming the “immediate reopening” of the 105 premises sealed by the municipal police “due to lack of operating licenses”, but Porto Mayor Rui Moreira acknowledged on Friday that the premises could be reopened subject to security measures.
To return to work, there must be a permanent fire engine at the stop, working five but no more than 12 hours, the municipality is ready to invest in safety equipment (hoses and nozzles) and train space users so that in case of fire they know how to act, he said at a press conference Rui Moreira.
The proposal to open a mall has been received with caution by two associations representing musicians who are still debating the feasibility of the solution and the future of the space.
With a reopening proposal on the table, the focus of the demonstration is now focused on demonstrating “not only the size and diversity of the community” of the Stop, but the importance of this “cultural hub” to artists, shopkeepers and the people of Porto, the two associations said in a statement.
After the closure, which left nearly 500 artists and shopkeepers with “nowhere to go”, hundreds of musicians occupied the Rua do Heroismo for about five hours in protest, forcing the police to divert vehicular traffic to the city’s other arteries.
As an alternative to the mall, the Porto City Council has presented two solutions: the Pires de Lima school and the upper floors of Silo Auto.
For musicians, both spaces “do not have the facilities to accommodate the entire Stop community”, not seeing them as a solution for their move.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Rui Moreira guaranteed that he would not authorize the construction of “any hotel” on the site of the shopping center, and the next day again denied the existence of movable interests and said that the municipality would buy “Stop” if the owners “could and wanted” to sell the property.
“We don’t know of any real estate projects,” the independent mayor assured.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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