LISBON — Miguel Reis was one of the vulnerable ones. Like most of the 15,000 or so public school teachers laid off in Portugal over the last two years, he worked on a short-term contract. That made him an easy target when it came to government cost cutting. Six months ago, he lost his job.

Angry and unemployed, he joined a protest group — with a name too profane to print — aimed directly at the trio of international lenders that bailed out Portugal’s government with about $100 billion two years ago. He now blames them for Portugal’s troubles, saying the onerous cuts needed to repay the money threaten to forfeit the welfare of future generations, particularly when it comes to education.

“The I.M.F. and the rest of the troika don’t care about the well-being of Portuguese people, but only about financial markets and getting their money back,” said Mr. Reis, 34, who taught philosophy to high school students. He was speaking about the International Monetary Fund, along with the European Central Bank and the European Commission.

In Portugal and other nations in Europe, the battle lines are thickening around just how many more cuts to social benefits people will take, as their economies continue to shrink and social imbalances intensify. In a watershed ruling this month, Portugal’s highest court struck down some of the austerity measures included in the government’s initial 2013 budget, saying they discriminated against civil servants and retirees who had been singled out for salary and pension reductions.