On April 2011, Portugal requested financial assistance following Europe’s deepest economic crisis since 1930’s recession. The aid would be provided and negotiated by the so-called "troika" formed by members of the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank.
The plan was based in a three-year policy programme encouraging structural reforms to boost potential growth, create jobs, and improve competitiveness. As a result, taxes, unemployment, poverty and social unrest increased. The austerity programme was not well accepted and several social movements emerged leading thousands of people in the streets showing dissatisfaction with the government’s policies and blaming "troika" for the social disruption in the country.