LISBON, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Housing rights protesters in Portugal said on Monday they would extend their demonstrations through the end of the year and called for a joint Iberian general strike on Nov. 11, as protests in the northwestern city of Porto entered their 10th consecutive day.
"We are going to appeal to trade union structures for an Iberian strike. We think it makes complete sense, because these are struggles over exactly the same issues," said one spokesperson for the movement, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Protest camps remained in place in Lisbon and Porto over the weekend, with demonstrators arguing that government housing policies had exacerbated the crisis rather than resolved it.
"Governments have to understand that they must respond to people's problems, not aggravate them as they have done," the spokesperson added.
The demonstrations form part of a broader wave of housing protests across Europe, with similar encampments in several Spanish cities and rallies also held in France.
In Portugal, protesters are demanding legislation to ban real estate investment funds, which they accuse of fuelling property speculation, alongside broader government intervention to make housing more affordable.
Median property valuations reached a record 2,240 euros per square meter in July, while rents for new leases rose 9.1 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026. ■