The Chilean government presented an eviction plan for the Cerro Centinela megatoma in San Antonio to the Valparaíso Court of Appeals, which will not begin before January 2026. The measure includes the expropriation of over 110 hectares for a housing project benefiting 90% of affected families. The decision aims to avoid a humanitarian crisis in a settlement housing over 10,000 people.
On December 4, 2025, hours before the judicial deadline, the Chilean government presented an eviction plan for the Cerro Centinela megatoma in San Antonio to the Valparaíso Court of Appeals. The settlement, spanning over 215 hectares and housing 10,251 people in 4,100 homes including more than 3,000 children, emerged after the 2019 social outbreak. The court ordered eviction in June 2023, ratified by the Supreme Court in March 2024, with a 30-day compliance period from November 4, 2025.
To avoid contempt, the Interior Ministry outlined a timeline postponing the operation until after Christmas and New Year, citing humanitarian and operational reasons such as police capacity and risks of a mass displacement akin to an entire commune. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism (Minvu) published decree N° 88 on December 3, authorizing the expropriation of 1,105,953.95 m² (over 110 hectares) from three lots owned by Inmobiliaria y Constructora San Antonio S.A., for public utility. Negotiations with owners broke down on September 3, 2025, over a $6 billion price difference.
The Cerro Centinela Housing Plan allocates the land for permanent homes for 90% of cooperative-organized families, with Minvu subsidies and co-financing, including a minimum $1.5 million savings by December. Minister Carlos Montes stressed selection criteria to prevent 'line jumping'. That day, Montes met with representatives of 40 cooperatives and signed a collaboration agreement with the General Confederation of Cooperatives of Chile, involving over 3,300 families.
Elizabeth Rivera, a cooperatives spokesperson, welcomed the progress: 'We came here to show we are not usurpers... Now we have over 100 hectares we didn't have before'. Uncertainties remain about who will be excluded from the expropriated polygon.
The measure has drawn criticism. Businessman Richard von Appen called it 'a bad signal, because rights of landowners are being violated'. Academic Marisol Peña labeled it a 'deviation of power', arguing it legitimizes an illegal occupation and undermines court rulings. Interior Minister Álvaro Elizalde responded to candidate José Antonio Kast's reproaches: 'It's very easy to criticize when one has only talked without doing anything'. Kast had described the expropriation as 'a bad way to govern'. Mayor Omar Vera supported starting the non-expropriated eviction from January 4, 2026.
The government justifies the expropriation due to lack of housing alternatives and high social costs, amid 1,432 camps in Chile with over 30% migrant families.
