Mass anti-austerity protests in Portugal are emerging out of social movements which have been fighting against precarious conditions in the labour market

Tiago Carvalho, Nuno de Almeida Alves, David Cairns and Ana Alexandre report on recent mass street protests in Portugal against the government’s painful austerity programme. These demonstrations, with the most recent instance estimated to encompass one million people across 40 towns and cities, have emerged as a consequence of longer standing social movements which have sought to overturn a broader trend within Portugese society towards the growth of precarious working conditions, where low pay is coupled with little employment protection.