In Miami they are fed up with “spring break”: sun, beach, booze and lack of control

The authorities of Miami and the inhabitants of the city -a great mecca of international tourism- They’re sick of “spring break”it’s spring break for America’s college students, who often flock to this corner of Florida in huge waves from all over the country to hit the beach, drink, and party.

The drama is that this flood it often spirals out of control and explodes tragically, like this weekend, when two young men were murdered on one of the busiest streets and one of them died. Students are simply no longer welcome.

“It’s Time for the Spring Break Party to End in Miami Beach” the newspaper said on Monday miami herald in an editorial and wonders how to discourage the mass arrival of young people in this period from mid-March to early April, because spring break is in different weeks in each state and university.

Student parties tend to be concentrated in South Beach, especially on Ocean Drive, a promenade lined with bars, restaurants and dance clubs, but also in and around Lincoln Center. These places are also very popular with tourists.

excesses

But excesses don’t just happen at night because young people flock to the beaches during the day with refrigerators full of alcohol (even if it is forbidden) and fights often break out. Not to mention the tons of rubbish they leave on the sand.

There was gunfire on Eleventh Street and Ocean Drive early Sunday morning and people fled. When police arrived they found a man lying on the floor who died hours later. According to the footage from the security cameras, the perpetrator of the attack would have targeted that very person.

There is an inmate who is “cooperating” e four weapons were found in the area. On Friday, two other youths were shot dead at Ocean Drive and Sixth Street, one of whom was killed and another injured.

This was told by Jocelyn Castillo, a thirty-year-old influencer who lives in Midtown Miami clarion: “We are tired of this. I don’t know any Miami natives who want to get out and enjoy the beach during spring break. because of how dangerous South Beach is right now. It’s the same every year and we don’t see any changes. Even the people who work in the beach shops are fed up”.

“South Beach is too dangerous this week,” he adds. “Worst of all, we see no movement from our leaders. Something has to change. ” He proposes, for example, that hotel rates be increased for those dates or that bars close earlier.

The complaints

After Sunday’s attack the authorities immediately decreed a curfew in that area from midnight to 6am and they planned to renew it this Monday for the whole week. The cut-off time for selling alcohol could also be lowered to 2 in the morning, which is 5 so far. In the United States, the consumption of alcohol is prohibited for those under 21 years of age.

This was stated by Laura Blas, of turismoenmiami.com, a tourist information site in Miami clarion that “as locals we know that student travel is chaotic and there is a lot of lack of control. So we avoided the tourist area. Luckily we have a beautiful state that we can go to, both on the east and west coasts.”

“Two deaths over the weekend, a lot of alcohol and certainly some substances generate violence every year, the police can’t do it“He added. “I advise tourists to avoid South Beach and take advantage of other areas, we have miles of public beaches,” he added.

City leaders have tried to control the excesses, but nothing seems to succeed. “There are too many people, too much alcoholtoo many guns: At least 70 have been seized so far. Every night, Ocean Drive becomes a explosive place, no matter how many cops are down,” warns the Miami Herald.

“Some say the nightly sale of booze is to blame; others say all the excesses happen on the streets. Thank God there were no more casualties given the packed crowd and stampede following Sunday’s shooting,” he added.

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said, “We never wanted spring break. Who wants thousands of young people visiting their city to act illegally for some rite of passage?.