The creation of a self-governing body to manage municipal cemeteries was advanced by council today and is expected to be voted on by the end of this month. The initiative aims to debureaucratize the administration of Campo Santo, create plans for restoration and enhancement works, and create a registration system for basements and niches managed with their own budget.
The project presented to the city council by Julio Arac’s management was presented in plenary session of the Finance and Legislative Committee by the city’s secretary general, Norberto Gómez, who provided details to councilors from the ruling and opposition parties.
Photo: Nicolas Brajković
Representatives of various groups consulted and made amendments to the original text to produce the majority opinion, which was signed by the Patria Union (UP), UCR, Asap Nueva Generación, and PRO-JxC. The only block that did not sign was that of La Libertad Avanza (LLA). Overall, the ruling party has got a number of sanctions on the table in the constituency, with voting day scheduled to be November 27, related to the 2026 budget and tax and finance ordinance, amendments to the urban planning law and new public transport documents.
The management of local cemeteries currently relies on the city’s General Secretariat, which has suffered significant deterioration in infrastructure, management and operations, as evidenced by the discovery last February of more than 12,000 unburied remains, which led to the construction of new columbariums, as the mayor denounced at the start of his administration.
But in addition, officials warned in their presentation of the need to build new sidewalks, add lighting, repair vaults and gaps, and resolve abandoned buildings, flooding, and other inconveniences affecting perimeter walls. In addition, it is an “urgent” requirement to re-register the use of safes and niches and to digitize and systematize information systems for charging for services provided by institutions.
In his presentation to the Council’s Finance and Legislative Committees, Gomez explained that the decentralization of Campo Santo’s operations is due to the need to debureaucratize management, develop plans for restoration works, and modernize registration and services for collecting cemetery fees.
new existence
The project consists of the creation of a “Cemetery Authority” of a decentralized and autonomous nature within the scope of the Executive, led by the Mayor and Vice-President, proposed by the Mayor and approved by the Council. And its functions are the direct management, operation, maintenance, development and modernization of real estate.
Administered financial resources come from fees, cemetery rights, supplementary service fees, fines and surcharges, and fees, in addition to funds received from allocations, donations, agreements, and credits provided by the city.
The 2026 City Budget Project is expected to allocate P665 million for the operation of the site.
At today’s committee plenary session, amendments were included in the legislative bloc. The radicals demanded that the state law framework for heritage management and preservation be incorporated into the text, which was included in the final document.
Meanwhile, PRO-XXS called for adding functions related to tourism promotion to the organization’s capabilities. The LLA then demanded the full absorption of local workers and that the efforts of the organization’s president and vice president be matched with those of the mayor’s deputy.
As Finance Committee Chair Micaela Maggio confirmed to EL DIA at the end of the meeting today, the file was approved by a majority and will be voted on in the Chamber on November 27th. “It was a political decision by the mayor to address something as fundamental as restoring dignified burials for our neighbors, and we celebrate that,” the mayor said in defending the project.
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