Inês Guerreiro
Top Concerns
Housing
"I can't keep moving. I can't save for anything. I'm working to pay rent, nothing else."
Seasonal precarity
"Half the year I'm working 50 hours, half the year I'm scraping by."
Local displacement
"Portimão isn't for Portuguese people anymore. We're the staff."
Future prospects
"Is this it? Working in tourism until I can't, then what?"
Family access
"My parents might have to leave too. Where will we all go?"
Background
Inês was born in Lagos when it was still a fishing town with tourism on the side. Now she doesn't recognize it. The house she grew up in—her grandparents' house—was sold after her avô died; her parents couldn't afford the inheritance taxes, and a British couple turned it into an Airbnb.
She studied tourism thinking it was the smart local choice. It was—until it wasn't. She's worked hotels, restaurants, tour companies. The pay is mediocre, the hours brutal in summer, and every year her rent increases while the owners chase tourist money. Last year she moved twice because landlords wanted to convert to short-term rentals.
She speaks four languages, works harder than most people she knows, and still lives paycheck to paycheck. Her friends from school are scattered—Lisbon, UK, Germany. The ones who stayed work the same seasonal grind or married tourists and got out that way.
Economic Situation
Income level
Lower middle (€1,100/month average; varies by season)
Income source
Hotel salary + occasional side work (tours, translation)
Financial stress
High
Housing burden
68%
Trajectory
Declining (rent rising faster than wages)
In Their Own Voice
"A country that found out it could make money selling itself and forgot to stop. The Algarve is beautiful, yes—but for whom? I can show you the beaches, recommend the restaurants, speak four languages with tourists. I just can't afford to live here."
— On Portugal
"Visit in winter. See what happens when the tourists leave. See how many shops close, how many of us struggle. Then tell me that more tourism is the answer."
— To Politicians
Hopes
For themselves
herself
"I want a place I can stay. Not move every year. Maybe save enough for a down payment someday. Have some stability before I'm 40."
the Algarve
"I hope we can be more than a resort. That there's something here for locals, not just season workers serving foreigners."
Personal fears
"Being 50 and still living like this. Still moving every year, still counting euros, still working summers so hard I can barely stand."
What she'd say to someone who disagrees with her politically
"You want to talk about property rights? Fine. But I have rights too. The right to live in my own region. To have a stable home. Tourism is great, but it shouldn't mean locals become refugees in our own towns."
Her message to politicians
"Visit in winter. See what happens when the tourists leave. See how many shops close, how many of us struggle. Then tell me that more tourism is the answer."
For Portugal
Portugal
"I hope we realize that selling the country to tourists isn't a strategy. That Portuguese people need to be able to live in Portuguese places."
Fears for Portugal
"That we've already been sold. That it's too late. That my generation gave away what our grandparents built."
How she'd describe Portugal today
"A country that found out it could make money selling itself and forgot to stop. The Algarve is beautiful, yes—but for whom? I can show you the beaches, recommend the restaurants, speak four languages with tourists. I just can't afford to live here."
Fears
For themselves
Personal fears
"Being 50 and still living like this. Still moving every year, still counting euros, still working summers so hard I can barely stand."
Her message to politicians
"Visit in winter. See what happens when the tourists leave. See how many shops close, how many of us struggle. Then tell me that more tourism is the answer."
For Portugal
Fears for Portugal
"That we've already been sold. That it's too late. That my generation gave away what our grandparents built."
How she'd describe Portugal today
"A country that found out it could make money selling itself and forgot to stop. The Algarve is beautiful, yes—but for whom? I can show you the beaches, recommend the restaurants, speak four languages with tourists. I just can't afford to live here."
What she'd say to someone who disagrees with her politically
"You want to talk about property rights? Fine. But I have rights too. The right to live in my own region. To have a stable home. Tourism is great, but it shouldn't mean locals become refugees in our own towns."
Candidate Reactions
How this person would react to each candidate winning
PS (center-left)
António José Seguro
Key trigger: Housing policies, PS base
Bloco de Esquerda (left)
Catarina Martins
Key trigger: Housing champion; speaks to her reality
Independent ("My party is Portugal")
Henrique Gouveia e Melo
Key trigger: Competent but unclear on housing
PCP (Communist Party)
António Filipe
Key trigger: Workers' rights but seems distant
Chega (far-right)
André Ventura
Key trigger: Anti-foreigner rhetoric feels simplistic; doesn't address housing root causes
PSD/CDS backing (center-right)
Luís Marques Mendes
Key trigger: Establishment won't change anything
Iniciativa Liberal
João Cotrim Figueiredo
Key trigger: Market solutions = more of the same
Information Sources
Where they get their information
community
High TrustCoworkers, remaining local friends, family
online
Medium TrustInstagram, Público, regional news sites
Never
social media
Medium-HighInstagram, WhatsApp, some Facebook
tv
Medium TrustSIC, TVI when home
Voting History
Past electoral choices and patterns
Left-leaning, housing-focused
BE
"Only ones talking about housing seriously"
PS
"Lesser evil"
Marcelo
"Default choice"