For the past three weeks, after Portuguese elections which gave a third of parliament seats to the far-right, climate justice collective Climáximo pushed climate change and systemic change into the center of public debate
On March 10th, Portugal went to the polls to vote for the next government. Surprisingly or not, and following the European-level trend, the center right won and the far-right party Chega tripled its votes. In the midst of inflation, an unprecedented housing crisis, the intensification of the climate crisis and its consequences on the territory – such as the extreme drought in the Algarve region – social movements are now fighting in a new panorama to have social and climate justice in the center of the debate.
For the past three weeks, Lisbon-based grassroots climate justice collective Climáximo put the climate crisis in the center of the pre and post electoral debate. To the group, “no party has a program that faces the reality of the climate crisis, much less the center-right AD which will now form government”. By openly framing the climate crisis as a “coordinated and premeditated war that the government and companies have declared on society”, Climáximo is fighting to organize “the real resistance to the climate and social collapse, which will be fought on the streets, not in parliamentary politics”.
In late February, Climáximo subvertised electoral campaign outdoors of virtually all parties with the message “with your vote we guarantee climate collapse”. In the week before the elections, the group interrupted the main electoral debate held on national TV station RTP, stating that “Stopping the climate crisis is not at the ballot box, it’s in people’s hands”. They also disturbed normality at the Lisbon airport on March 4th by painting over the ticket readers to say that “the electoral debate on the location of the new airport is absurd”. Later that week, and on the last day of allowed campaign, Climáximo supporters shattered the window of Santander Bank at the Women’s Strike. During the “reflection day” before the elections where no campaign is allowed, Climáximo blocked a road in downtown Lisbon with the banner “there’s no abstention in climate crisis”.
On election night, Climáximo supporters painted and interrupted winning party AD’s rally on a 5 star hotel in Lisbon [Photo from TheGuardian]. Amidst tension with AD supporters, the climate activists made clear that “the new government will not solve climate crisis, they will simply be the new generals of this war on the people”. On the week after elections, a group of 6 people broke into a golf camp and transformed it into an urban vegetable garden to show that “with our own hands, we can disarm criminal places such as golf camps which use precious water for a luxury sport in a middle of an extreme drought”. Finally, yesterday at dawn of the Lisbon marathon promoted by EDP energy company, Climáximo supporters painted over the marathon bridge “Close gas centrals” [which are currently owned by EDP] and painted the iconic company building in red.
As the awaited 50 year anniversary of the 25th of April Carnation Revolution of 1974 in Portugal approaches, Climáximo will be out on the streets again in April, “in a time which collectively reminds us that big transformations in the system are possible” to fight for the systemic change that today’s reality forces us to make so we can stop climate chaos through popular resistance.