IN STEREO

I’ve had the opportunity to walk almost all the city – I know the whole city, even the new neighbourhoods that have been developed lately. I wanted to buy a house already built [but] the prices went through the roof, and there were not many houses for sale, either. I mean, the miners could accumulate money and buy anywhere, at the asking price. And that is what motivated me to do a construction. All the steps and formalities were done in a legal way. I had to make consultations and other verification of all data and plans, through the Heritage department – they are the ones who evaluated and accepted the plans so that it can be built. We haven’t done it how some people build, and later get the blueprints and everything done. There are some requirements – the fact is that the area is considered patrimonial.

For example, I was told that I could not build more than three floors. But it is contradictory that the institution controls some and not others. It is corrupt. A few metres down, there is a house that has gone up from three to four floors. No one has prevented anything. How they have done that, I don’t know – maybe they did it secretly or started to build, then they are already finished. Obviously, there are many people from the town hall and their Heritage department who are in charge of undertaking the inspections. They came but didn’t object, because in fact all of the paperwork for the municipality was in order. Although they came to stop us, thinking that there was no supporting documentation. Then when it was presented, they didn’t say anything to us. Many people come with the intention of extorting. I have not given them a cent. – Luis