The Cemetery of Recoleta, one of the historic landmarks of Buenos Aires City, will not have a gift shop nor sell coffee and food at one of its vaults, like the local administration had planned.
On Monday, BA City Judge Roberto Gallardo ordered the local government to stop its plans to install a commercial shop inside the vault and take down the tender it had launched in early August to award concession for using the tomb’s structure to a private firm for five years.
The judge also ordered the local administration to refrain from expropriating the property, a process that was already in place and was a necessary step to move forward with the plans to install the shop.
According to the local administration, the vault was “abandoned” and the owners are in substantial debt with the public cemetery after failing to pay the expenses for the past 20 years.
The Buenos Aires City government complied with the decision, which follows a judicial complaint made by the family who owns the vault.
