Rioting has erupted across many districts in Lisbon, capturing the international media’s attention. Now, tourists are being warned about visiting not just the city but Portugal as a whole.
The European city loved by holidaymakers has been rocked with nights upon nights of carnage, with passengers even forced off a bus before it was sprayed with petrol and set on fire in horrifying scenes.
The riots erupted on Monday evening in response to authorities shooting 43-year-old Cape Verdean man Odair Moniz, which, according to the PSP, happened when officers “intercepted an individual who had been fleeing from the police”.
Hoteliers and tourism leaders now fear that the violence “could cause a poor image and be a large problem for tourism.”
Hélder Martins, president of AHETA, the Algarve Association of Hoteliers and Touristic Resorts, told Correio da Manhã: “Any upset to public order has an impact on tourism.
“When something happens in Lisbon, or any other part of the country, tourist markets see it as Portugal as a whole.”
Yesterday, October 26 thousands in Lisbon staged a demonstration against police violence on Saturday, the protestors demanded justice with many chanting the slogan “Justice for Odair”.
According to the Public Security Police (PSP), the incident happened on the outskirts of Lisbon at around 6am on Monday.
On the day of Moniz’s death, the PSP said: “In the main street of the neighbourhood, when the police officers were approaching the suspect, he resisted arrest and tried to assault them with a weapon and one of the police officers.
“Having exhausted other means and efforts, resorted to a firearm and shot the suspect, in circumstances to be determined in a criminal and disciplinary investigation.”
Since the shooting, Portuguese police have reportedly recorded more than 100 incidents of public disturbances in Lisbon.