Portugal This Week: Inflation Eases to 3%, More Police in the Baixa, INEM Strike Dates Set

Inflation eased, but the things that decide whether Portugal feels affordable — wages, building costs, rent pressure — kept climbing. Lisbon answered Monday’s shooting in the Baixa with more police on the street. And the emergency-services dispute now has strike dates. Here is the week of 11–14 August, sorted by what it means for you — whether you are planning a move, already living here, or visiting this month.

What happened to prices this week?

Inflation is easing; the cost of building and employing people is not. INE’s July numbers, published on Wednesday 12 August, put annual inflation at 3.0% — down from 3.2% in June.

Indicator (INE)	Latest	Previous
Inflation, July	3.0%	3.2% (June)
Core inflation (no energy, no unprocessed food), July	2.6%	2.5% (June)
Energy prices, July	8.7%	9.1% (June)
Labour costs per hour, Q2	+5.4%	+5.3% (Q1)
New-housing construction costs, June	+7.2%	+6.9% (May)

Two of those rows matter more than the headline. Labour costs rose 5.4% in the second quarter — construction is the sector where they are rising fastest (+6.7%) — and building a new home cost 7.2% more in June than a year earlier, with construction labour alone up 8.0%. Cheaper inflation does not mean cheaper housing: the cost pressure behind the rents and purchase prices in our cost of living guide has not gone anywhere.

One genuine reassurance for anyone who drives: ERSE, the energy regulator, has delivered a study to the energy minister — reported on 13 August — finding no evidence that Portuguese pump prices rise like a rocket and fall like a feather. Over the first seven months of 2026, prices at the pump tracked international refined-fuel costs. If you filled up cheaper this week, thank the August fuel-tax discount — and the international market, not a change of heart at the forecourt.

Is downtown Lisbon safe?

One violent incident, heavily policed since — and treat the Baixa as you would any busy European city centre. On Monday 10 August at about 18:15, a woman — a Swedish visitor of about 40, according to press reports cited by RTP — was shot on a crowded street in the Baixa and taken to Hospital de S. José. Two suspects fled by car; the Polícia Judiciária is investigating.

The Interior Ministry’s response came within a day: PSP and Municipal Police patrols in the Baixa and other tourist-heavy areas are being reinforced, on top of a visible-presence operation that has been running since June. The ministry called gunfire in one of the city’s most crowded zones something that “demands a firm response”, and says the deployment will be maintained and adjusted as the situation develops.

For a visitor, the practical read: this was an incident whose suspects are reported to be linked to drug dealing, not a pattern of attacks on tourists — and the police presence in the centre is now heavier than it was last week. Our Lisbon city hub has the wider picture on the city.

What is happening with ambulances and family doctors?

INEM’s emergency technicians have set strike days: 14 and 28 September. The dispute is over the institute’s new organic law, which the workers say pulls 100 ambulances out of INEM’s operational system — moving them to local health units, with some crews travelling in light vehicles instead of ambulances. Union head Rui Lázaro insists this is not about pay: he calls it a “dismantling” of INEM. The technicians are also demanding the resignation of the institute’s president. If you live here, note the dates.

The week’s health bright spot is at the other end of the country: the ULS do Nordeste became the first health unit in Portugal’s interior and border zone where every registered user has a family doctor — 82 GPs with assigned patient lists covering 126,080 people, with user-initiated appointments inside 15 days (five at USF health units). If you are weighing a move to the far northeast, primary care there now starts with an assigned doctor rather than a waiting list.

Why are documents taking so long?

Registry-office backlogs got worse again. The registry workers’ union STRN, citing the IRN’s own statistics, says the total backlog across Portugal’s conservatórias grew 13% between May and June — from 40,947 to 46,289 accumulated days of delay. In June, 237 of Portugal’s 404 conservatórias (registry offices) — 58.66%, on the union’s arithmetic — were running late, and the car-registration backlog more than doubled in a month, from 845 to 1,738 days. The union blames staffing: by its count the service is short 270 registrars and 2,731 registry officers. If you are waiting on a property registration, a car transfer or a civil-registry certificate, build slack into your plans and keep proof of your submission date.

The same week delivered a blunt reminder of why the slow, official queue is the only queue worth standing in: a court sentenced a former SEF employee in Leiria to 10 years in prison for running a paid legalisation scheme. More than 150 immigrants — most of them Brazilian nationals — paid between €500 and €2,000 for residence papers built on false documents. A lawyer in the same case received six years and eight months. Anyone promising to “expedite” your residency for a fee is describing a crime. The legal route, delays and all, is mapped in our AIMA appointments guide.

What changed for getting around Lisbon?

If Gira docks near you look wrecked, this is why: Lisbon’s city hall says the shared-bike network has suffered more than 700 acts of vandalism this year: over 1,400 docks destroyed and 1,000 bikes ripped from their stations, with losses of around €400,000 since the current wave began in late 2025 — on top of more than €3 million in accumulated damage since 2017. The council calls the effect on service availability “devastating”, so expect missing bikes and dead stations while repairs catch up.

Shared e-scooters, meanwhile, are in a political fight, not a legal one. The Automobile Club of Portugal wants Lisbon to hold a referendum on whether to stop authorising shared scooters when current permits expire; Bolt, Lime and Byrd counter that theirs is the most regulated fleet in the city and point to police figures — 623 accidents involving bicycles and e-scooters nationwide in the first four months of 2025, 3.6% of all road accidents, none fatal, a count that lumps in private bikes and scooters. Nothing is banned and nothing is decided; scooters work today exactly as described in getting around Portugal.

What’s on this weekend (and later)?

• Sol da Caparica — the lusophone music festival’s 11th edition runs 13–16 August at Costa da Caparica (gates opened at 16:00 on day one), this year with water-saving measures while Almada’s water alert runs to 31 August.
• Calçadas – A Arte Sai à Rua — São Brás de Alportel’s historic centre fills with dance, street art, photography, literature and street food tonight, Friday 14 August, 20:00–01:00. Free.
• Soul Powerhouse — the Algarve Jazz Orchestra and Australian singer Florelie Escano play free open-air soul and Motown: Tavira tonight (22:00), Carvoeiro Saturday 15th (22:00), Ferragudo on the 21st (22:00) and Monchique on the 22nd (21:30).
• 26 VOLTS, Porto — the international performing-arts meeting returns to the former Freixo power station 8–11 September, artists from seven countries, free with ticket pickup from 19:00.
• Guimarães — Portugal’s birthplace city holds the European Commission’s European Green Capital 2026 title: a good excuse to add it to a northern itinerary this year.
• Keep your eclipse glasses. After Wednesday’s total eclipse, the sky is not done: a deep partial lunar eclipse comes in the early hours of 28 August, visible from Portugal — no glasses needed for lunar eclipses. The next total solar eclipse’s path crosses southern Spain and misses Portugal, so store the glasses unscratched (NASA’s advice: damaged glasses go in the bin, and never point them through binoculars, telescopes or cameras).

What should you do next?

• Budgeting a move while wages and building costs climb? Re-run your numbers against the cost of living in Portugal — and verify rents against live listings, not last year’s blog posts.
• Waiting on AIMA or the registries? How AIMA appointments actually work explains the queue — and why no fixer can legally jump it.
• Planning to get around without a car? Getting around Portugal covers trains, coaches and city transit, including Lisbon’s shared bikes and scooters.
• Heading to Lisbon this month? Our Lisbon city hub has the balanced picture on safety, cost and neighbourhoods.

Facts above are as reported on 11–14 August 2026 by the sources listed below; strike dates, event times and police deployments can change — check the linked source before you plan around any of them.