Demonstrations are taking place next to the national headquarters of the PS, in Largo do Rato, in Lisbon, and in front of the Socialist Federation in Porto to challenge the things that have happened in the government in recent weeks.
The protests were organized in at least two closed WhatsApp groups with the motto “Socialist Government: Off”.
According to the organizers quoted by the television, the intention is to ask the government for an explanation and to exert political pressure.
More than 50 people, mostly young people, are in Largo do Rato against António Costa, the government and the PS. They say they are impartial and organize themselves via Whatsapp pic.twitter.com/4IpZ20XsUG
– Goncalo Martins (@goncalocmar) January 12, 2023
The event’s Facebook page, which received 405 responses, states that the “group was set up for the purpose of protesting outside PS headquarters”.
Recalling that they are “peaceful and impartial” demonstrations, the organizing group refers to slogans such as “Socialism Out” or “We must make noise”.
“Currently we are in WhatsApp groups with more than 1,000, in the first group, and more than 400, in the second group, in Lisbon and we have now started a group in Porto,” reads a publication on Monday.
The protests come after 12 government layoffs in just nine months.
Quoted by CNN, the organizers, asking for anonymity, say the movement “began with a group of friends, young Portuguese, from Lisbon, all working in different areas, who decided, after what is happening in this government, of so many things and things , that there is little transparency”.
“Explanations are needed, control is needed and if it’s not us, who’s going to exert political pressure?” they wonder.
The self-described “partisan” movement called for a “completely peaceful” protest accompanied by horns, megaphones, Portuguese flags, drums and posters to create more “impact and visibility”.
According to SIC Notícias, the protests in turn brought dozens of people together in Lisbon and Porto.
Source: DN
