It was two weeks ago that the Santa Cruz City Council decided to block all access to the promenade of Reis Magos, in Caniço. But what can happen to those who overcome the metal barriers placed there? Nothing. Apparently, no sanction can be applied, because that interdiction does not respect the law.
The notice of the Captaincy of Funchal posted next to the barriers only prohibits leisure and sports activities on the beach (pebble or port platform) but not access and circulation on the promenade, as explained by captain-of-the-sea-and-war José Guerreiro Cardoso. The measure of the Câmara has no legal basis either in the exceptional legislation approved at the national level related to the Covid-19 pandemic or in the municipal regulations, as explained by lawyer Ricardo Vieira, a specialist in Administrative Law.
Yesterday we addressed a request to the president of the municipality of Santacruzense to clarify the legal basis of the procedure for closing the Caniço seafront and to indicate the offense that would be committed by a citizen who decided to move in that space. We also asked about the deadline for reopening the promenade. Filipe Sousa has not yet responded and no council deliberations on the matter have been published.
Full article can be read here from the Diário Notícias
