Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - It may come as a surprise to many Puerto Vallarta residents and visitors, but the consumption of alcoholic beverages on the Malecón is in violation of City regulations.

During a recent Monday-morning cabinet meeting between Mayor Ramon Guerrero and the city's senior managers, the issue of excessive alcohol consumption on the Malecón was raised. It was suggested that municipal judges impose higher fines on businesses that sell alcoholic beverages "to go" in violation of city regulations.

According to the Director General of Licensing and Registration, Iris Ulloa Godinez, the subject of the consumption of 'liters,' and alcohol in general, on the Malecón did not go unnoticed in the cabinet meeting, so in addition to establishing heavy fines, she also asked the Public Security Department to support Reglamentos in monitoring the situation to ensure that people do not to drink alcohol on the boardwalk.

She acknowledged that attention is being given to incidents of liters being consumed on the boardwalk, but said if stronger action is not taken with the downtown merchants who sell them, there could be a situation that gets out of control.

Authorities ascertained that the convenience stores that sell alcoholic beverages unabashedly before closing time are the reason behind the problem of excessive consumption of alcohol on the Malecón.

"Over the last several weekends there has been a significant increase in the sale of so-called 'liters' on the boardwalk," the General Director of Inspection and Supervision, Macedonian Leon Rodriguez, said. "Most of the beverages consumed on the boardwalk are from convenience stores, who," the official said, "are selling them in large numbers between 11-12 o'clock at night."

He stressed that now that the problem has been detected, what follows is to work with the Municipal Public Safety and Utilities Departments to prevent people from drinking on the boardwalk, which is prohibited. He said that Public Services must also be held responsible for maintaining clean and trimmed flower beds, because people hide their beers in them during inspections, and throw empty bottles in them too. He added that improvments to the Malecón's lighting is also in order.