There lies a shantytown called la Candela
west of San Jose where hundreds of people have marched
as the residents of this area are being evicted. On Tuesday
hundreds marched to the Presidential House in central
San Jose to try to stop the evictions. The land is owned
by the Mexican Bank Banex and residents thought that yesterday
would be their last day before they were physically accepted.
Banex
however stated that it was unfair to evict all these people
at once and they would relocate with the Governments help
the 900-1,200 families that live there. It would be virtually
impossible to evict all those people and give them aid
said the assistant director of social development for
the Mixed Institute for Social Aid. The MISA are interviewing
the families to find out whether they are eligible for
financial aid.
The
eviction process will most likely take weeks if not months
as the Costa Rican government is not ready for such mass
movements. A big problem at the moment however is that
when the new presidential office takes place next week
with Oscar Arias's government what priority will this
take? Will they be forgotten.
One
of the main problems at the moment is that the residents
of the shantytown know nothing of the smoother and more
loving steps being taken to evict them. Most feel appear
to understand that they have very limited time and most
move within the next couple of days.
