The Municipal Assembly of Santa Cruz approved a protest vote this Monday against what it described as interference by the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of Madeira in local government affairs. The document issues a “vehement protest” over what it sees as an overreach of regional powers and criticizes the use of the assembly as a “political and media circus” against local bodies and the opposition. It also reaffirms the constitutionally protected autonomy of local government and says the Municipal Assembly alone has the authority to oversee the municipal executive. The vote rejects what it calls an “implicit certificate of incompetence” directed at the assembly and its members. The measure will be sent to the Association of Municipalities of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (AMRAM), the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP), and the National Association of Municipal Assemblies (ANAM). The initiative came from the JPP, which pointed to recent incidents in the parliamentary committee and comments in the Regional Legislative Assembly as evidence of an unacceptable intrusion into local authority. The party argues that the Regional Legislative Assembly should supervise the Regional Government only and says any attempt to place a local body under its direct scrutiny violates the autonomy of local government and distorts the balance between levels of power.
