Is this the tallest slum in the world?

[Newbie]

I am currently in Caracas (actually a nearby city called Los Teques, which is sometimes considered part of Greater Caracas). In the city center of Caracas there is a very new (about 5 years old) office building called "Torre David" or sometimes "Torre Confinanzas" which was occupied by people from nearby slums during its last stages of construction. The government then proceeded to pay the developer for the building so they didn't have to take them out. Here are some photos of the building, which is 190 meters tall (that's 623 feet), making it the third tallest building in Venezuela (the first two being the twin towers of Parque Central):

 

The one on the left is one of the twin towers of Parque Central, the tallest buildings in Venezuela (221m). The one on the right is the slum I'm talking about. The orange bricks seen in the close-ups were put there by the current occupants. I wonder if this is the tallest slum in the world.

 

 

 

 

[Cataclaw]

You're kidding me... right?

 

Let me get this straight:

 

A skyscraper was under construction. At some point, during construction, homeless people began to occupy the floors of the building, even as construction was going on. These people refused to leave and so the government stepped in and bought the building. Now the technically abandoned and unfinished building houses a bunch of impoverished Venezuelans? Wow. That's insane.

[Newbie]

It is almost as insane to me as it is to you, and I am from Venezuela. Land invasions (as we call them) are not rare here. Unused farmland (or just unused land) around large cities is occupied by the poor, and they build their houses there, since construction materials are very cheap here (those houses are of course very very low quality). "Building invasions" on the other hand, are more rare, and when they happen it's usually with abandoned buildings or houses. Since a few years ago the government has been paying land owners for the land that has been illegally taken from them, as a way to avoid confrontations and the political tension they produce.

 

Now how did this happen? I haven't found the precise story (I will post it if I find it), but I'm sure the construction stopped as soon as some people started getting inside. They probably tried contacting the police to take them out but police are usually afraid of them.

Modifié 1 septembre 2010 par Newbie

[Malek]

lol wtfffffffffffff

[Cataclaw]

I don't necessarily advocate the use of violence, but if the Americans do one thing well it's protect their property. If you so much as trespass one foot on somebody's property, you'll find a twelve-gauge shotgun pointing at your face. Maybe Venezuela could learn something from the U.S.A. in this regard!

[Davidbourque]

bien franchement, ils auraient pu attendre la fin de la construction !

[Newbie]

lol wtfffffffffffff

 

I said the same thing when I first learned about it. The two tall buildings around (back and to the right) are office buildings named after banks (this one was going to be one too). This area has some of the most important office buildings in Caracas (other important ones are in the nicer East side), though there are lots of residential ones as well.

 

I remember being excited when this building was under construction. I wonder if that's a helipad up there...

[acpnc]

:eek: Hallucinant!!!!! Incroyable mais pas si surprenant!!!! Dans une société aussi inégalitaire on peut s'attendre à des extrêmes qui dépassent l'imagination. Dire que les pays sud-américains sont tous plus ou moins du même genre, c'est-à-dire qu'ils encouragent la richesse pour une minorité et le dénuement pour la majorité, sans espoir d'amélioration.

 

C'est un bon exemple d'une population qui ne fait plus confiance à ses dirigeants et qui se fait justice de manière chaotique. Malheureusement rien de bon ne peut sortir de cette situation et j'essaie d'imaginer l'insécurité des habitants en cas d'incendie notamment, en eau potable, ascenseurs, climatisation et autres services indispensables dans ce genre d'immeuble démesuré et non prévu à cette fin.

 

Le gouvernement aurait mieux fait de construire des logements mieux adaptés au lieu de dépenser des millions pour acheter la paix et créer de surcroit une situation qui pourrait être pire pour les résidents de ce bidonville en hauteur.

 

La pauvreté n'est pas toujours limitée à la population et on a ici un très bon exemple de pauvreté de l'esprit, pauvreté de gouvernement qui ne met qu'une pommade sur une jambe cassée. L'injustice mènera toujours à des aberrations et la pauvreté engendrera toujours la pauvreté parce qu'elle prend naissance dans les mentalités.

[JFrosty]

Bel exemple de ce qui peut arriver quand on se fout des pauvres de la société. C'est désolant que ça arrive, mais éventuellement, ça arrive.

[Cyrus]

I don't necessarily advocate the use of violence, but if the Americans do one thing well it's protect their property. If you so much as trespass one foot on somebody's property, you'll find a twelve-gauge shotgun pointing at your face. Maybe Venezuela could learn something from the U.S.A. in this regard!

 

They could learn other things too like democracy and freedom of speech chk-chk boom

Modifié 1 septembre 2010 par Cyrus