There’s a Department for That! Municipal Power Explained

Erik Brunar

Did you know that while you will have to deal with the câmara to apply for a building permit, if you want to become a lottery-ticket street vendor, you can petition your local junta for a license? How did these divisions come to be and what are their respective jurisdictions?
Municipal self-government goes back to the 12th century. After the Reconquista, the crown borrowed organizational ideas from the Muslims and granted cities royal charters setting the rules by which they ran themselves. Town councils were elected by the homens bons, the men who owned land or had high-status jobs. Reformists in the 19th century unified the disparate charters. The early 20th century saw the division of local governments into a deliberative and an executive arm. After the democratic Constitution of 1976 enshrined universal suffrage, women and illiterate citizens were finally allowed their say in electing local leaders. The details of the jurisdiction and the organization of local governments were subsequently set by laws with an aim towards decentralization and local self-rule. The lowest level is the freguesia. Several freguesias make up a município. The município de Caldas da Rainha encompasses 12 freguesias from the small settlements of A dos Francos and Vidais to the two markedly urban freguesias that divide the city of Caldas, Nossa Senhora do Pópulo, Coto e São Gregório and Santo Onofre e Serra do Bouro.
The deliberative arm of the freguesia is the assembleia de freguesia and the executive is the junta. Likewise, power in the município is split between an assembleia municipal and a câmara. Elections for câmara, assembleia municipal, and assembleia de freguesia take place at the same time every 4 years. Seats are allocated according to proportional representation, with the leader of the winning party–or independent block–becoming the president of the junta and the câmara. The junta’s other members are elected by the assembleia de freguesia. Local authorities are allowed to own property and are entitled to the revenue its holdings generate. They collect property taxes and receive funds out of the state’s tax revenues. They are allowed to set fees for their services. Local authorities may employ civil servants who enjoy the same job protections as national government workers.
The deliberative assemblies provide general rules for their executives and hold them to account. The assemblies have to approve the annual budget, major land purchases, personnel decisions, and agreements to outsource parts of their tasks to entities above or below them–a common way to seek efficiency by pooling resources. The assemblies get to choose a coat of arms and a flag, but they have to follow the recommendations of the national archeological society’s heraldry commission. Freguesia assemblies must hold four annual regular sessions. Municipal assemblies must hold five. Juntas meet at least once a month, and câmaras meet every week or two.
There is some overlap in the responsibilities of freguesias and municípios. Both are charged with maintaining rural and urban infrastructure, drafting and enacting zoning rules, managing water rights, supporting culture, leisure activities and sports, engaging in social and environmental action, authorizing street parties, achieving civil protection goals, encouraging economic development, and managing cemeteries. Freguesias will focus on neighborhood-scale projects whereas municípios will organize city-wide initiatives and do long-range planning and coordination with the state. Freguesias are in charge of trash collection and of water, sewage, and waste-water treatment, but in Caldas and many other cities these utilities are coordinated by a semi-commercial arm of the município, the SMAS–Serviços Municipalizados de Aguas e Saneamento.
In addition to their human residents, freguesias also register cats and dogs while municípios run animal control. Municípios play a role in organizing energy, transit and communications networks, in the provision of education, professional training, health services and housing, and in the designation of historical landmarks. They are expected to take action to promote gender equality and to study, administer, and publicize the local natural, cultural, and architectural heritage. In addition to their duty to issue permits for construction, renovation and demolition, municípios have the power to order the demolition of structurally unsound buildings that constitute a danger to the public and to expropriate properties in cases of overwhelming public interest. Municípios build roads, set parking rules, and maintain a police force.
So much self-rule makes for some striking differences in the day-to-day operations from one município or freguesia to the next. For the same request, the application process can involve different sets of documents, deadlines, and fees. At least it is all in the name of local empowerment! ■