Rio de Janeiro (AP) – If you were on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, it probably sounds familiar: samba music that moves from a nearby pavilion, Caipirinha cocktails sold by Hawkers, chairs scattered through the sand.
Now this can be more difficult to find unless the sellers do not have the right permits.
Mayor Eduardo Paes has issued a decree in mid -May, creating new rules for the city’s coastline, saying he wants to preserve urban order, public safety and the environment, as well as to promote peacekeeping between tourists and residents.
New measures should come into force on June 1, and they prohibit food and drink sales, hires, speakers and even live music in pavilions without official permits. Also, beach huts will only be allowed to have a number, not often creating names that are very known at the moment.
Some have welcomed this move to deal with what they perceive as a chaotic activity on the beach, but others say that the decree threatens the dynamic beach culture of Rio and the livelihood of many musicians and local suppliers that may be difficult or impossible to obtain permits.
Moving to regulate music on the beach beach in Rio especially hit a nerve.
“It is difficult to imagine Rio de Janeiro without a boss new, without a samba samba,” says Julio Trindade, who works as a DJ in the pavilions. “While the world sings the girl from Ipanema, we won’t be able to play it on the beach.”
Music restrictions are “silence of the soul on the beach. This compromises the spirit of a democratic, musical, life and authentic Rio,” said Orla Rio, a concessionaire who rules more than 300 pavilions.
Can this be stopped or changed?
Some are looking for ways to stop applying the decree or at least change it to allow live music without permission. But so far to a little benefit.
The Brazilian Non -Profit Citizenship Institute, which protects social and consumer rights, filed a case last week, demanding that live music restricting articles, claiming that the measure compromised the free exercise of economic activity. The judge ruled that the group was not a legal party to submit a complaint, and the non -profit organization appealed the decision.
Also last week, the Rio Municipal Assembly discussed a bill aimed at regulating the use of the coastline, including beaches and boards. He supports some aspects of the decree, such as restricting the integrated sand music, but not the requirement for pavilions to have permits for live musicians. The proposal must still be officially voted on and it is unclear whether this will happen before June 1st.
If approved, the bill will have an advantage over the decree.
The economic activity of Rio’s beaches, with the exception of pavilions, bars and restaurants, generates approximately $ 4 billion (about $ 710 million) a year, according to a 2022 report from the Rio City Hall.
Millions of foreigners and locals hit the beaches of Rio every year and are very given to sweet corn, grilled cheese or even bikinis or electronic devices sold by scattered sandmen.
Local councilor Danny Balby faced the bill on social media.
“What is the point of holding big events with international artists and neglecting the people who create culture every day in the city?” She said last week on Instagram about Lady Gaga’s huge concerts earlier this month and Madonna last year.
“Forcing farmers to remove the name of their business and replace it with numbers, it compromises the identity of the brand and the loyalty of customers who use this location as a guide,” Balby added.
Anger, fear and sadness
The news of the decree, which seek to break up on the unregistered hawks, provoked pulsations of anger and fear among the pedals.
“It’s tragic,” says Juan Marcos, a 24-year-old, who sells shrimp on the beach Copacabana and lives in a nearby favela or low-income urban community. “We rush crazy, everyone to make a little income into the house. What will we do now?”
The mayor’s office does not give enough permits to hockers on the beach, said Maria de Lourdes to the 50 -year -old Karmo, who runs the movement of United Street sellers – known by its abbreviation MUCA.
“We need permissions, but they are not given,” said Lourmo to Karmo, who is known as Maria of the street sellers. The city government did not respond to a request for the number of permits given last year.
After the protest, the city government stressed that some rules had already been introduced in a statement on May 21. The City Hall added that he was talking to all the parties concerned to understand their demands and was considering adjustments.
Maria Lucia Silva, a 65-year-old resident of Copacabana, who walked back from the sea with a pink beach chair under her arm, said she expected the mayor’s office to act.
“Copacabana is a neighborhood for the elderly (…). No one pays a very high property tax or absurd rental to have such a huge mess,” Silva said, stabbing the noise and pollution on the beach.
For 53-year-old Rebecca Thompson, who is a native of Wales and again visits Rio after a five-week trip last year, the rage is part of the charm.
“There is vitality, there is energy. There has always been a strong sense of community and acceptance for me. I think it would be very sad if that would go,” she said.