Leão: people remain in Talude "because they want to"

The mayor of Loures said this Tuesday, at the entrance to a summit organized by SIC Notícias, that the Talude Militar neighborhood “is a particular case”, where, after the demolitions he ordered, “people are there because they want to be there”.

Speaking to SIC, upon arrival in Paço de Arcos, in the municipality of Oeiras, for the “Greater Lisbon Summit” event, Ricardo Leão reiterated that “it is necessary to stop clusters” of precarious and illegal construction, which “are growing”.

When questioned by Lusa, the mayor confirmed that he is "challenging" the decision of a Lisbon court that approved a precautionary measure filed by 14 residents of Talude Militar.

“ At the moment it is a legal issue ,” he stressed , refusing to answer whether he intends to continue the demolition operation that began last Monday, which demolished 55 homes but has since been suspended by court order, leaving nine houses standing.

“We’ll see about the rest later,” he said twice in response to the question about whether he intends to continue with the demolitions.

When asked what will happen to the fifty people who continue to spend the night in tents in the neighborhood, among rubble and debris, Ricardo Leão responded: “People are [in the neighborhood] because they want to be .”

The mayor, elected by the Socialist Party (PS), noted that the municipality of Loures is struggling with “the problems that the entire Metropolitan Area [of Lisbon] has had”, specifying the “shortage of housing”, namely public housing.

The “Greater Lisbon Summit” — which will discuss housing, security and transport — brings together five mayors (Almada, Lisbon, Loures, Oeiras and Sintra) and the vice-president of the Cascais municipality.