Opposition urges ban on advertising and sales which promote street drinking

THE Partido Popular (PP) in opposition on Palma City Council have asked the Citizens' Services Commission that bylaws governing use of public spaces should include a ban on the advertising and sale of any material which might encourage street drinking.

This is one of several proposals which the Partido Popular has put forward to toughen up legislation against street drinking parties known as the botellon. The PP proposals which are essentially amending already-existing legislation on civil behaviour and codes of public conduct are expected to be approved by all parties at today's city Council meeting.

After approval, the draft legislation will then be put out to public scrutiny and be subject to a period of yet further amendment before it becomes law, probably in October this year.

During its discussions with the Commission, the PP detailed legal technicalities which it wants to see applied to the banning of sales and advertising that have hitherto promoted street drinking parties. Such material includes plastic containers, straws, stirrers and anything that is used to mix alcohol in readiness for the botellón.

To back up their argument, the PP had brought with them for the discussions, pictures that had been taken at an establishment on the Playa de Palma showing buckets of varying sizes which are sold “by the pack” along with the alcohol itself and extra long straws.

The PP separately pointed out that were the draft legislation that is now on the table already in force, the mass gatherings of noisy crowd euphoria which were seen at the end of the World Cup football championships, would in fact also have been prohibited.

The new bylaws essentially say that large gathering of people for whatever reason - whether it be for street drinking, for sports occasions, or for games - are illegal if they threaten the safety of other people who are not involved or prevent them from carrying on their life in a normal way. The toughening up of the bylaws has in theory been welcomed by all parties on the Council, with the Socialists acknowledging yesterday that current legislation, more softly worded, is difficult to enforce.