Chile's Housing Minister Iván Poduje announced in the Senate plans to intervene in 50 critical neighborhoods this year, part of a broader effort targeting 152 areas hit by narcotrafficking and housing decay. The program starts at Cerro Chuño in Arica, site of Tren de Aragua presence, involving demolition of irreparable homes. He also pledged to tackle operators charging abusive fees for housing subsidies.
Housing Minister Iván Poduje addressed the Senate's Housing and Urbanism Commission in Valparaíso on Tuesday, outlining the government's plan for critical neighborhoods. "This issue has been dragging on for a long time," he said, referencing Michelle Bachelet's 2014 'Quiero mi Barrio' program aimed at repairing segregated and rundown areas.
The pledge covers 50 neighborhoods in 2026, starting with Cerro Chuño in Arica, which hosts Tren de Aragua and organized crime. Toxic-material homes there will be demolished without immediate rebuilding. Poduje cited cases like Las Américas in Talca, Vicuña Mackenna in Rancagua, and sites in Puente Alto and Quilicura, including over 600 Serviu units seized by narcotraffickers. "We have to get these narcos out of the homes that are terrifying neighbors today," he stated, coordinating with Security Minister Trinidad Steinert.
He blamed shoddy or illegal construction lacking basics like potable water. Poduje also targeted 'operators' charging up to 3 million pesos to slot families into subsidy committees. "We'll make a list of them... and take them to the prosecutors," he vowed, noting cases in the Metropolitan Region and Valparaíso.
