Cerrillos Community Group Accuses Mayor Johnny Yáñez of Claiming Ownership of Recovered Public Space

Original article: Cerrillos: Colectivo Barrio Mosh acusa que alcalde Johnny Yáñez «se apropió» de recuperación de un espacio que fue realizada por ellos

The Barrio Mosh Collective, made up of musicians and young individuals involved in the skate culture of Cerrillos (Metropolitan Region), expressed their concern over a recent social media post by Mayor Johnny Yáñez, in which he «claims ownership» of the restoration of a space located at the intersection of Pedro Aguirre Cerda and Carlos Valdovinos.

In a statement, the collective reported that this space was «previously intervened in December 2025 by our organization, through a self-managed cleaning and recovery day, conducted with our own resources.»

«The goal of this initiative was to transform a site abandoned for over 20 years—which had been used for criminal activities and drug use—into a community space dedicated to music and sports,» the community group added.

They indicated that «prior to the activity, this action was communicated to the president of the relevant neighborhood council and to the mayor, requesting permission for its execution. However, this was rejected.»

Thus, on December 13, 2025, while conducting a cultural event with local bands, the activity was interrupted by police and municipal inspection personnel, who proceeded to suspend it and summoned one of the collective’s members to the Local Police Court.

«As a collective, we are concerned that months later, a public intervention in the same space is disseminated without any acknowledgment of the previous work done by community youth, who voluntarily and without public resources, sought to recover an abandoned place for the community’s benefit,» the statement reads.

In line with this, Joaquín Osses, lead vocalist of the band Marginal and a member of the collective, stated that «it is contradictory for Mayor Yáñez to penalize us merely for organizing to reclaim abandoned spaces. We believe in the importance of promoting open cultural spaces, especially for artistic expressions that are often marginalized.»

Finally, the Barrio Mosh Collective reported that they have contacted the team of Senator Fabiola Campillai to explore support avenues that can facilitate the recognition and development of cultural initiatives.

«We call on authorities to recognize, value, and support the work of social and cultural organizations, generating conditions for such initiatives to be developed safely and participatively,» reiterated the Barrio Mosh members.

Videos

In support of their claims, the Barrio Mosh Collective shared two videos with El Ciudadano. The first video, posted on the collective’s Instagram account, shows the cleaning efforts they conducted (view here), while the second video shares the appropriation they accuse the mayor of Cerrillos (view here)

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