Original article: Dirigentas de Comités de Vivienda protestaron ante el Concejo Municipal de Macul exigiendo soluciones habitacionales

Housing Committee Leaders Protest at Macul City Council Demanding Urgent Housing Solutions

This Tuesday, the Macul City Council was the site of a peaceful protest led by leaders from the Community Union of Housing Committees and the Articulation of Housing Committees, both organizations from the area. They expressed deep concern and disappointment regarding what they described as a «continuous lack of interest and concrete responses» from the municipality to their requests and proposals presented in a working group forum.

The leaders explained that their action aims to highlight the urgent housing crisis facing Macul, specifically the plight of 160 families awaiting solutions in a commune that, they asserted, has not constructed social housing for over 30 years.

In this context, the committees expressed their frustration over the mayor’s decision to delegate the issue to individuals without decision-making power, resulting in a mere waste of time and demonstrating a lack of commitment and political will.

In light of this «stalemate» in the process, the leaders voiced a series of concrete demands that they insisted «must be addressed» by the municipality: «A redesign of the DMAOS (Department of Environment, Sanitation, Aesthetics, and Sustainability), adapting the design to the funding that the ‘Development Country’ program can offer to make the project viable.»

Additionally, they called for transparency regarding municipal lands, requesting complete information about properties that could be considered for social housing construction; allocation of a specific and serious municipal budget to tackle social housing issues within the commune; and effective implementation of the Housing Department, staffed with specialized technical and professional personnel to reverse its dismantling.

Finally, they emphasized the necessity for the immediate activation and regular functioning of the Municipal Council’s Housing Commission.

From the Articulation of Housing Committees of Macul, they highlighted that the demonstration served to foster an initial coordinated response among residents of social housing organizations, human rights groups, and others, noting that no expressions of discontent had arisen from residents despite the pressing needs in the commune.

They also believe that the preparation and organization of the committees were robustly demonstrated by the formal submission of a letter detailing specific demands, for which they expect a prompt response.

The Citizen