Justice authorizes the consumption of alcoholic beverages in six bars and restaurants of BH

At least six bars and restaurants in Belo Horizonte have been authorized by the Justice of Minas Gerais to sell and allow the consumption of alcoholic beverages within the establishments. The bars requested court orders to judge individual decisions and, on Friday night (18), received the court orders with positive endorsement. Consumption was prohibited by decree of the city council on December 7 due to the new coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19).

One of the establishments that had a permit is Uamii, on Grão Mongol street, in the Sion neighborhood, in the Central-South region of Belo Horizonte. “We presented a court order because if the order of Abrasel (Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants) were withdrawn, we would have protected ourselves with another attempt. In our opinion, the city government cannot do what it is doing with the bars. shopping malls full of people, full buses and the sector of bars that suffered ”, explains Normando Siqueira, owner of the bar.

According to him, 11 families depend on the salary of the establishment. With the prohibition of the consumption of alcoholic beverages in bars, he says there is a 95% drop in clientele. “Due to the pandemic and the need for distancing, we already operate at 40% of the bar’s capacity. If consumption is banned again, I will have to take collective vacations in January, because there will be no way, “he says.

Judge Maurício Leitão Linhares, who gave the decision in favor of Uaimii He stressed that “what the Public Administration must charge is precisely respect for health protocols, and it is not possible that, considering that not all respect them, there is a serious, specific and unreasonable restriction directed at a relevant sector of the economy of this municipality, in the case of bars, restaurants and the like, which exist here in large quantities ”.

The other five bars where alcoholic beverages can also be consumed are the Code Bar, on Levindo Lopes street, in Savassi, also in the South-Central region of the capital; El Patorroco on Rua Turquesa, in the Prado neighborhood, in the West region; the Taste-Vin bistro, the Boi Lourdes and the Costelaria Monjardim, both on Rua Curitiba, in the Lourdes neighborhood, in the Center-South region. The decisions in favor of all were given by Judge Wauner Machado.

“Despite the fact that the prohibition imposed by the Municipality is based on its duty to guarantee the right to health of its population, due to the obvious risks of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, I see that it did so disproportionately. The way in which it acted unbalanced the applications of the Constitutional Principles to Health and the Free Initiative, denying part of the essential activity of bars, restaurants, coffee shops and the like, which is the consumption of alcoholic beverages in the place, as a way recreation and entertainment. What was done was to impose that bars, restaurants, cafes and the like equated their activities with those of groceries and supermarkets, by allowing only the sale of beverages, but not consumption ”, the magistrate considered in one of the decisions.

The president of Abrasel, Matheus Daniel, considers that the economic situation was the main reason for the individual orders of the bars. “The bars started to make this move out of the desperation that hits them. Yesterday they were supposed to pay the 13th salary and many owners could not pay. There are more actions for the city to take individually ”, he explains.

Abrasel is currently awaiting a conciliation hearing with the city to try to solve the problem. By note, the city said it has not yet been notified of decisions to free alcohol use.