After the demolition of the Mirador art gallery, which was located on the pedestrian promenade and viewpoint of La Herradura, and whose construction was considered illegal by the courts of justice, the residents of that sector of Coquimbo expressed themselves happy to have recovered a space that belongs to everyone, as they pointed out.
Although the Supreme Court had issued a ruling ordering the demolition and eviction of the place in 2014, only, 10 years later, was the municipality able to execute said order.
The above, due to a series of appeals that were filed by those who illegally built said structure.
In this regard, the residents of the sector, although they expressed their joy at recovering that part of the pedestrian promenade, were critical of the delay with which the Supreme Court order was carried out. “It cannot be that it takes so many years to evict if there is a court order. These things only happen in this country,” criticized Mirna Flores.
It should be remembered that, in this regard, the municipality’s lawyer, Víctor Donoso, explained that “several instances of a jurisdictional nature occurred. “In the meantime, throughout this entire procedure that dates back to 2014, the appellant attempted various legal devices in order to hinder the demolition work.”
JOY IN THE SECTOR
Despite everything, residents and visitors of the place recognized that it was satisfactory to see everything clear “and that a place that belongs to all of us is recovered,” said Roxana Collao, who assured that no one was clear if the art gallery had the relevant permits. , “because the person in charge always assured that they did not remove her from there because she had the papers in order, so the demolition that was carried out now surprised us all,” he said.
For her part, María del Carmen Obregón, who has lived in the place for many years, stated that she and her family tirelessly complained about the occupation of public space by the gallery structure, covering part of the landscape they have from their home.
Furthermore, “the perimeter closure totally changed the course of the waters, the evacuation route, and circulation and it was something that did not have any permit. A wall was built and part of the circulation was taken away from everyone,” said the woman, who acknowledges that they waited for years to see the viewpoint clear and in the hands of the community.
MORE SURVEILLANCE
In fact, yesterday, with the coastal promenade recovered, the viewpoint could be appreciated in all its magnitude and, in the process, at least 5 vehicle parking spaces could be recovered. Some people, in fact, came to observe how the new landscape turned out, finding everything clean, with people walking and without the need for police or municipal security to prevent a new takeover of the place.
In any case, some people admitted to having some fear that, indeed, someone wanted to settle there again, so they called on the municipality to maintain surveillance of the place and avoid any alteration.
“We hope that no one again takes this place that belongs to us all. Now we have to worry that people do not arrive to cause destruction or other damage,” said Freddy Castro.
In this regard, the municipal administrator of Coquimbo, David Díaz, who was present during the demolition and eviction process this past Thursday, assured that an illegal occupation will not be repeated in the place, highlighting that they complied with the mandate of the highest court. of the country “which indicated that an asset for public use should be returned to the citizens. This is part of a plan to recover public spaces that we are carrying out throughout the Coquimbo commune and we are going to continue with this work,” he indicated.
It is worth remembering that last year, the municipality of Coquimbo had already evicted around thirty establishments that sold food in the perimeter of O’Higgins Park, who did not have the relevant permits or commercial licenses.
As stated by the municipality, the idea is to reorganize the city and allow people to enjoy the places that belong to all citizens.
