Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of the Portuguese capital Lisbon on Saturday in a protest against the police, after a man was shot and killed while reportedly resisting arrest.
Odair Moniz, who was from the African country of Cape Verde, which was previously colonized by Portugal, died in hospital in the early hours of last Monday morning after police said he was “intercepted”.
According to the official account, officers “approached the suspect, he resisted arrest and tried to assault them with a weapon”, and he was shot after officers had “exhausted other means and efforts”. He received medical treatment at the scene, but died later.
In subsequent days, more than 100 incidents of public disturbance have been reported in Lisbon, including the burning of a bus and attempts to set fire to a petrol station, with several arrests being made.
A statement from the country’s Ministry of Internal Aff airs said an inquiry into the original shooting incident would be held “as a matter of urgency… (to) ascertain the circumstances in which the events involving Public Security Police officers during a police operation took place”.
Minister of Internal Affairs Margarida Blasco said subsequent events were “unacceptable disturbances” that prevent “communities going about their normal lives”.
In April 2023, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued a report expressing concern about the excessive use of force by Portuguese police, particularly “against people of African descent”.
Racism and racial discrimination were endemic in Portugal, particularly in law enforcement and the judiciary, noted committee member Chinsung Chung.
One of Saturday’s protestors, Gabriela Ferreira, told Reuters it was “important to demand justice, to be on the streets and show that we are not afraid”.
“There is discrimination and some infiltration in the police forces of people who are openly racist, who may even have some fascist or extreme right-wing political links,” she said.
At the same time as Saturday’s protest, the right-wing political party Chega mounted a counter-demonstration defending the police, which drew around 300 people and lasted for just over one hour.
Chega’s populist policies have seen its support grow significantly, from 7.18 percent of the vote in the 2022 election to 18.04 percent of the vote in the election in March 2024, earning it 48 seats in Portugal’s 230-seat parliament and making it the third-largest party.
The growth of Chega and the volatily of the current situation are significant as the minority center-right government of Prime Minister Luis Montenegro is currently in the process of trying to get its budget approved by parliament before the end of November. If it fails to do so, Portugal could face its third general election in three years.