Jim McIlroy & Coral Wynter, Caracas
Around 2000 Caracas tenants met in the Teresa Carreno complex on August 26 to demand the full implementation of the Law on Expropriations, which promises to convert a million renters into owners of their apartments. The First Metropolitan Meeting of Tenants brought together people under the banner, "For the defence of our right to own our own homes".
Fernando Gandeome, president of Metropolitan Public Works and Services, representing Greater Caracas under Mayor Juan Barreto (a supporter left-wing President Hugo Chavez), said: "Especially in the municipalities of Barruta and Chacao [whose mayors are the right-wingers Henrique Capriles Radonski and Leopoldo Lopez], we see great numbers of tenants being evicted from their homes. They have spent more than 20, 30, 40 and up to 50 years renting."
The August 27 Diario Vea reported that Gandeome explained, "Faced with the indifference of the mayors of these municipalities, the metropolitan town hall has decided to help those renters, who make up almost a million people in the city of Caracas. There are about 1200 buildings which fulfill the criteria for expropriation. These buildings were constructed many years ago, and have tenants who have been paying rent all this time."
Neptali Garcia, metropolitan councillor and city vice-president, explained that many of the buildings facing expropriation "have been paid for three or four times over [through rent]. In Chacao, the prices of apartments are now impossible [to pay]. We respect private property, but we are opposed to profiteering."
Garcia said that some 95 buildings throughout Caracas are currently in the process of being expropriated, which will require the investment of 2 billion bolivares and will benefit 25,000 families.
Many tenants, especially in Chacao, are asking for a review of their apartments' value, because they consider them to be in bad condition and vastly overpriced. They are seeking expropriation by the city council, so that the apartments can be bought by the residents at a reasonable price.
Gerardo Falcon commented to Ultimas Noticias: "I have been renting for many years in an old building in San Juan. The structure is falling down, because the owner doesn't want to do any maintenance." Dolores Pereira stated, "I have been living for 25 years in La California Norte, where I pay 250,000 bolivares a month. The owners want to sell it at a very high price. Because of this, we are here to find out about expropriation."
According to the August 28 Ultimas Noticias, some 80% of the buildings facing expropriation under Barreto have not fulfilled minimum maintenance. The owners have claimed that the mayor does not have the funds to buy all these buildings, so it would be better if the available money was invested in other ways to help the 2 million people in Caracas who face housing problems.
However, as the meeting on August 26 showed, tenants are demanding immediate action to implement their right to own the homes that they and their families have been paying rent on, sometimes for generations.
Backing for the Caracas tenants has come from the municipality of San Pedro, where tenants' organisations have declared support for the expropriation process. The August 29 Diario Vea reported that a statement by the groups said: "The process of expropriations is justified as an effective method of redistributing property and [moving] to end the inequalities of the capitalist system. Expropriations allow thousands of city families to acquire in a dignified manner the flat where they have lived for years. And through the practical exploitation of the owner, they have cancelled the debt two or three times.
"But this has not been recognised, and up to now they have had no rights. This program will prevent thousands of families from remaining without shelter, owing to the massive [level of] evictions. Moreover, we must pay the social debt to these families of workers, who have never had the opportunity of counting on [living under] their own roof."