Parishes are waiting for parliament to green light the separation
It’s been 17 months since municipal authorities in Lagos approved the separation of the parishes of Bensafrim and Barão de São João. However, the process remains stalled as Portugal’s parliament has yet to approve it.
“This situation is compromising the possibility of populations voting for their own parishes in the next local elections of 2025,” the municipal council says in a recently approved motion in which it urges parliament to act.
The motion outlines the timeline of events starting in 2012, when a new law led to the merging of many parishes across the country, including 33 in the Algarve and four in Lagos.
Another law which came into force in 2021 (Law No. 39/2021) later allowed these parishes to be separated again. Seizing this opportunity, the people of Barão de São João formed the “Movement for the Creation of the Parish,” which was supported by the parish union and the municipal council and led to the approval of a parish separation proposal by the municipal assembly in November 2022, which was sent to parliament.
A year later, Portugal’s parliament asked for more documents to complete the process. These documents were sent on December 7, the municipal council says, “but no progress has been made since,” which has prompted the local authority to approve this latest motion.
