The City government’s decision to place fences in the Plaza de Mayo is in violation of planning laws, a Buenos Aires Court has ruled.
City Hall renovated Argentina’s most iconic plaza throughout 2018. Among other important monuments, it is home to the Casa Rosada government palace.
Controversially, the process included the construction of a fence to replace a security perimeter that had been in place since violent protests during the country's 2002 economic crisis.
The City’s Urban Planning Code establishes that “in Plaza de Mayo, only conservation and maintenance work on preexisting elements can be carried out” and that “all modification projects must be given prior approval from the Council and permitted by law”.
A City Judge, Osvaldo Ortheguy, ruled Thursday that the City government must push for a change in local legislation or risk the fences being removed since the renovation did not have the City Legislature’s approval. It has 90 days to convince legislators to consider and pass a relevant law.
The decision comes months after the civil society group City Law Observatory first lodged an injunction against the renovation work.
The City insisted at the time that the fences did not prohibit the public from accessing the eastern end of the plaza near the Casa Rosada and that the fences could be temporarily removed in 48 hours when necessary.
Plaza de Mayo is an official “National Historic Place”, according to the 1942 law which prohibits renovations.
-TIMES
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