There’s no more room to bury the dead, they can’t be cremated and laws forbid a new cemetery. So the mayor of this Brazilian farm town has proposed a solution: outlaw death.
Mayor Roberto Pereira da Silva’s proposal to the Town Council asks residents to “take good care of your health in order not to die” and warns that “infractors will be held responsible for their acts.”
The bill, which sets no penalty for passing away, is meant to protest a federal law that has barred a new or expanded cemetery in Biritiba Mirim, a town of 28,000 people 45 miles east of Sao Paulo.
“Of course the bill is laughable, unconstitutional, and will never be approved,” said Gilson Soares de Campos, an aide to the mayor. “But can you think of a better marketing strategy?”
Regional environmental organizations support the mayor’s proposed new cemetaries; but, the politicians on the government’s “Environment Council” think their regulations are perfect. Maybe laughter really is the only way the questions can be resolved?
Very witty and intelligient protest, I love it. How ironic would it be if it actually passed:)
Finally a bill I can support. After all, who really wants to die. And, if you don’t like the laws, you can always move somewhere else where they encourage people to die, like Florida or Arizona.