metro

Families, building falling through the cracks

LA PRENSA /Carlos Lemos

queasy:Sewage runs in the street outside the building known as El Corotú in Río Abajo.1019820

In a back alley of Río Abajo, there is a large wood and concrete building known as El Corotú.

Decades ago, this was considered a nice place to live. The paint was fresh and the streets around it were clean.

Now, however, years of neglect has taken its toll on the building and the area around it. To get to the building, one has to walk through raw sewage that washes into the street. That sewage mixes with garbage to produce a smell that is unbearable. A smell so bad that it seems to stick to the walls and the clothing of the people living there.

Living in these conditions are 41 families that are crammed into the 37-room building.

Olga Lewis has lived in the building for 21 years, and has seen it deteriorate over time. Lewis said the turning point was nine years ago, when victims of a fire in a nearby street moved in. At that point, the building became overcrowded, and the painted walls began to get covered with graffiti.

"Children used to run through these streets," Lewis said, pointing to the garbage-filled alley.

The families, though, struggle by as well as they can. But they may soon lose what little they have.

There are rumors floating around that a local politician, Javier Ortega, has plans to sell the building.

Ortega has denied this rumor, stating that he doesn't own the property and therefore can't sell it.

"No one can sell what is not theirs," Ortega said. "I can't even sell my own house, because it was purchased through a Caja de Seguro Social program."

Yet, Ortega does not seem concerned about the residents getting evicted. He said that he thinks they want the government to condemn the building as unlivable. This would make it harder for the families living there to be evicted.

A search of government records has not been able to identify an owner of the building. The families living there do not pay rent or water bills, but do pay for electricity.

The building, much like the people living there, have seemingly fallen through the cracks.

That may change, however, whether the building is sold or not.

The Ministerio de Vivienda is aware of the situation at El Corotú and is working on a plan to relocate them to better housing once it is available.