The marches in Portugal should take place in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Coimbra, Ponta Delgada and Braga. But the same movement, created by activists from several countries, will present itself in a dozen other European cities, and eventually other cities in South America.

Leonor Canadas, an activist in the movement, explained to Lusa that “The Surge” was launched last November during the dissemination of an international call signed by activists from several countries, one of which was Portugal. Since then the movement has grown in countries and supporters.

Without a physical structure and without leadership, “The Surge” brings together activists from three movements: against fascism, for the liberation of Palestine and for the defense of the climate, she explained.

“We are living in a new political and historical cycle in which the elites are leading humanity to annihilation; the genocide in Palestine is proof of extermination plans that begin by targeting the poorest, the most vulnerable and the working class,” the movement said in a statement about the demonstrations, which will take place in cities such as Amsterdam or Barcelona, Brussels or Hamburg, Oslo or Bucharest.

For activists, the rise of fascism, wars and climate breakdown are not isolated crises but “parts of a system that promotes inequality, violence and exploitation”, the “only plan that the powerful have for the future”.

“We are living in a state of emergency that demands immediate action and mobilisation. Our struggles have clear deadlines: to immediately end Israel’s genocide against the people of Palestine and other wars, to dismantle the fossil fuel industry within a decade, and to defeat forever the fascists, the last authoritarian and violent defense of global capitalism”, they say in the statement.


Activists note that the “popular offensive” begins the weekend before the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president, who is the “personification of climate chaos, fascism and war.”

The “Musk/Trump administration is the showcase of the elites’ plans for the future: violence, persecution of difference, unabated racism and sexism, all in the name of continued profits and an acceleration towards the climate collapse that allows humanity to exist.” add.

Leonor Canadas told Lusa that the movement is horizontal and decentralized, which does not invalidate the support of associations and movements, and added that this will be the first action and that others will follow.

On the 18th, in Lisbon, the march begins at Praça José Fontana and ends at Praça do Martim Moniz, where there will be a festival, and in Faro, the march culminates with debates and socialising.

Debates and gatherings will also take place in Porto and Ponta Delgada on the same day, while a gathering is planned for Coimbra. In Braga, on Sunday, the initiatives end with film screenings and debates.