Porto President criticizes IHRU statements about youth

The President of the Porto City Council criticized the statements made by the President of the Institute for Housing and Urban Rehabilitation regarding youth and housing issues, stating they do not reflect the views of most politicians in Portugal. Pedro Duarte emphasized that the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing had already clarified this matter. The comments came after Benjamin Pereira, the IHRU president, suggested that society may not be willing to make the sacrifices previous generations did for housing. Following backlash, Pereira acknowledged his remarks were unfortunate and did not intend to downplay housing difficulties. Duarte noted that protests for housing rights are becoming a normal democratic expression, with demonstrations expanding from Porto to Lisbon and other cities after the approval of a new rental law.