Rui Moreira warns of the need for municipalities to regulate economic activity

The President of the City Council of Porto, Rui Moreira, warned this Monday of the need for municipalities to be able to regulate the economic activities that arise in the city, advocating for this purpose legislative changes.

According to the independent publication, municipalities “must be able to regulate” the economic activities that come and go in the city, even in order to preserve the authenticity and diversity of businesses.

Because, in his opinion, without this control the city “cannot plan and plan.”

Rui Moreira stressed that residents often “bring the attention of the council” to businesses that open and close, thinking they have the ability to intervene, but they do not.

And in this regard, the mayor cited the example of Mercearia do Bolhão, a 144-year-old store in the center of Porto that will close on Tuesday to make way for a store owned by the Spanish chain Ale-Hop – a situation that has led to people being outraged by the camera , because they think she has tools that she doesn’t really have.

Moreira also noted that residents do not understand why the municipality does not intervene to renovate the souvenir shops that are “invading the city at breakneck speed.”

Residents demand control from local authorities; local authorities understand their concerns, but do not have mechanisms for intervention, he emphasized.

“Legislative changes are needed that will make it possible to actually plan commercial activities,” he emphasized.

If municipalities could play any regulatory role in the matter, “they might not have to open” so many supermarkets or gift shops throughout the city, he stressed.

This is also a way to decentralize powers to municipalities, he noted.

That is why the independent movement “Rui Moreira: Aqui Há Porto” will present this evening at the Porto Municipal Assembly a recommendation for stricter regulation of the licensing of economic activities by municipalities, he said.

The recommendation, which Lusa had access to, insists on expanding the powers of municipalities to regulate changes in activity, ensuring a diversity of economic activities.

In addition, it protects the regulation of the issuance, monitoring and revocation of business licenses, ensuring effective control.

In its recommendation, the Rui Moreira: Aki Ha Porto movement also calls for expanding the regulatory capacity of municipalities to cover not only trade, restaurants and hotels, but also new tourism activities and urban logistics.