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202 Cali households seek rent aid after eviction from private land
🇨🇴 Colombia /Culture & Society

202 Cali households seek rent aid after eviction from private land

From El Tiempo · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • 202 families from the Brisas de las Torres settlement in Cali, Colombia, have applied for temporary rent subsidies following their eviction from private land.
  • The settlement, located on a servitude strip belonging to Interconexión Eléctrica S.A. ESP (ISA), housed around 1,300 people, including vulnerable populations like children, the elderly, and conflict victims.
  • The eviction, a judicial and administrative decision, highlights a humanitarian crisis and the need for structural solutions to displacement in southwestern Colombia, according to the Cali ombudsman.

A total of 202 households from the Brisas de las Torres settlement in Cali have applied for temporary rent subsidies after being evicted from a private property in the Navarro corregimiento. Of these applications, 98 subsidies have been granted by resolution, and 50 have already received payment.

The eviction of nearly 1,300 people from the human settlement of incomplete development Brisas de las Torres, in compliance with a judicial and administrative decision of mandatory compliance, is a situation that overwhelms the local scope and compromises the State as a whole

— Cali Ombudsman Gerardo MendozaDescribing the scale and implications of the eviction.

The eviction followed a five-year legal dispute over the land, a servitude strip along power lines, claimed by the private company Interconexión Eléctrica S.A. ESP (ISA). The company won a legal action against district secretariats and the mayor's office, leading to the court-ordered restitution of the property.

The settlement comprised approximately 1,300 people from nearly 390 households, including children, the elderly, migrants, and individuals in vulnerable conditions. Many were conflict-affected, heads of households, or persons with disabilities. The ombudsman of Cali emphasized the need for a contingency plan and dignified housing alternatives, stressing that the eviction of such a large population transcends local issues and involves the state.

Its execution responds to compliance with the decisions of the competent authorities; however, it also highlights the need to address the humanitarian, social, and security crisis facing southwestern Colombia

— Cali Ombudsman Gerardo MendozaCommenting on the eviction's dual nature as a legal compliance and a social issue.

The ombudsman stated that while the eviction complies with competent authorities' decisions, it underscores the humanitarian, social, and security crisis facing southwestern Colombia. He warned that without addressing the root causes, Cali will continue to face the consequences of forced displacement.

As long as its structural causes are not addressed, Cali will continue to bear the consequences of forced displacement

— Cali Ombudsman Gerardo MendozaWarning about the ongoing challenges of displacement in the region.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Tiempo in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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