São Paulo City Hall Passes Law to Fine People for Urinating on the Street

05/17/2017 - 12h08

São Paulo's acting mayor, city councilman Milton Leite (Democrats), approved on Tuesday a law that provides a fine for people caught urinating on public streets. The fine of R$ 500 (US$ 161) will be applied to recidivist citizens - the punishment for the first record is a warning.

Presented by councilor Caio Miranda (Brazilian Socialist Party), the law needs to be regulated in the next 90 days. According to the city's Communication Department, the forms of supervision will be defined within the stipulated period for the regulation.

The bill was approved in April, with the premise, according to the City Council, that all amounts collected would be allocated to the Municipal Urban Cleaning Fund. "The idea is to provide a mechanism to the public power to punish those who, for lack of education and laziness, urinate on the street. The project is in line with the "Cidade Linda" (Beautiful City) program [mayor João Doria (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) main action of janitorial services] and initiatives of several cities, such as Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, for the preservation of public assets, "said councilor Caio Miranda at the time.

	André Bueno - 30.mar.17/CMSP
	Mayor João Doria

The law was inspired by a similar measure adopted in Rio de Janeiro, which caused controversy. Since 2015, whoever urinates or defecates on public streets in Rio de Janeiro pays a fine of R$ 510.

The critics point out the lack of public toilets in the big cities as a factor that generates discredit in the application of the law.

Translated by MARINA DELLA VALLE

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