Visit today the Manuel Bonilla in Miraflores It no longer produces pride. Gone are the nights of volleyball and the triumphs that maintained the pride of Peruvian fans with their team, or the Sunday afternoons when neighborhood teams competed in the local league in front of a stadium filled with fans and colors.
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Now, it is a shame for the neighbors to see the roof of the coliseum about to fall and the field turned into a desolate esplanade of dirt and waste. The ticket offices have been closed, and their only visitor is the dust that covers each window. A project of S/ 31,786,098.90 for its “improvement and expansion” has been diluted in a legal labyrinth that exposes a chain of administrative and political negligence that has already lasted more than two and a half years.
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A remodeling that ended in ruin
John Ánchez has spent all 58 years of his life in the district. He remembers that he was just over 28 years old when the then mayor Alberto Andrade inaugurated the Niño Héroe Manuel Bonilla Sports Complex.
That image contrasts with what he has now in front of his eyes: “I feel angry, but above all sad, because it wasn’t like that. We came to see the soccer leagueit was a space to share.”
The deterioration of the complex originated at the end of the management of the former mayor Luis Molina Arleswho enthusiastically announced his remodeling. The work began in the last days of December 2022, at the twilight of his administration, but barely reached 3.19% physical progress before stopping.
The municipal manager assured that what was found in the coliseum is not clearing. Credits: John Reyes / La República.
In March 2023, the Municipality of Mirafloresalready under the management of Carlos Canales, declared the nullity of Contract No. 33-2022 ex officio, upon verifying that the Bonilla Consortium (Construcciones y Promociones Balzola SA and Constructora Durán SA) presented false documentation: a certificate of work experience with dates that did not coincide with official records.
Although the annulment was legal, it had consequences. According to the Legal Advisory manager, Lino De La Barrera, three arbitration processes were opened: “Of the three, two have already been won—one from the builder and another from the supervisor—and one remains pending from the main contractor, which is still being discussed.”
Both administrations, that of Molina and that of Canales, belong to the same party: Popular Renewalled by Rafael Lopez Aliaga. Molina, in addition, today presides over the Lima Cadastral Institute appointed by the López Aliaga administration. The process keeps S/ 25.7 million blocked in the Integrated Financial Administration System (SIAF), resources that the district cannot use.
The complex converted into a warehouse
Abandonment is not only legal or administrative: it is also physical. The soccer field, today converted into a dirt and cleared land, serves as an unloading point for municipal trucks. During a visit of The Republica vehicle with the sign “Clean City” entered the stadium to unload bags of waste material.
The Municipality, through its image area, requested to add an additional disclaimer, after the interview with its spokesperson, to this publication. The defense is based on the fact that the Bonilla space is municipal property. As long as the recovery plan is not completed, it can be used without any restriction in management tasks, such as the operation of a nursery. They argue that the district does not have service areas for the city and while they are provisionally obtained, that location is used. For this reason, they rule out that it is a dump or something similar.
Despite this justification, manager Lino de la Barrera, who had denied the use as a dump, had already indicated that the removal of land was the responsibility of the previous management and that “they could not touch anything due to the ongoing arbitration.”
The roof of the coliseum is about to collapse. Credits: Miguel More / La República.
The official version changed when he was faced with the images recorded by this medium. “That is clean land. Clearing is when you have a construction and remove stones or iron; this is clean land that we use in the parks,” he assured. “Parks and Gardens staff use the place as an exchange point to transport soil to the district’s gardens,” he said.
Councilor Renato Otiniano had warned this, calling the practice a constant denial: “It’s good that you have the evidence, because unfortunately what the management does is deny and deny. Today the complex is a car cemetery or a landfill”.
The Republic also confirmed flower pots, hanging clothes and cats living among the vehicles, in addition to ambulances and motorcycles parked inside the coliseum. De la Barrera described it as “ridiculous” to claim that there are people living there: “Surely some night watchman washed his clothes, but no one lives there.”
Regarding the disused vehicles, he explained that “they have been detained for inspection and are undergoing administrative or judicial procedures.” Others, he assured, are “about to be deregistered or donated to other entities.”
“That place is used for large units to spend the night: buses, cranes, trucks. It is a security base,” he stated.
For the neighbors, however, the panorama is different. “It has become a garage, a nursery, a municipal veterinary clinic and a garbage dump. All in the same place,” says Ánchez.
A party under a falling roof
Abandonment also reached risk levels. The coliseum, closed to the public due to structural deterioration, was used for an internal party on November 5, Municipal Worker’s Day.
“A few days ago a neighbor reported that a party was being held. Let’s look at the ceiling: it is about to collapse. How do they expose people in that situation?”, denounced Councilor Otiniano.
Manager De la Barrera confirmed this and responded: “If the councilor is against celebrating those who work for the district, I regret his comment.” Regarding structural risks, he assured that “the necessary provisions were taken.”
The alarm about the structure is serious: Manager De La Barrera confirmed that the area detected “water stains under” the ground using a georadar, and admitted that the area is “a filled cliff.” For the land to be safe, “comprehensive work is required, which means doing a deep excavation to eliminate that if we want something to last in that place.”
” title=” At the site, La República observed clothes hanging, although the neighbors denied that there were people living there. Credits: John Reyes / La República.
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At the site, La República observed clothes hanging, although the neighbors denied that there were people living there. Credits: John Reyes / La República.
The manager avoided commenting on the political coincidences between Molina and Canales, both from Popular Renewal: “You have looked for a municipal spokesperson, not a politician.”
Councilor Otiniano does not share that caution: “Mayor Canales has been an ally of Lopez Aliaga and this is what they leave: an abandoned space, used as a garbage dump, with unfulfilled promises and neighbors without courts.”
The neighbors summarize the disappointment in a single idea: the municipality has failed in the basics. “There is no order or security. Necessary works are not prioritized, but rather pharaonic projects,” says Ánchez.
“The Manuel Bonilla complex was central for sports and cultural activity. Today it is closed. The two main complexes in the district, also the Chino Suárez, are without citizen use. This directly affects the neighbors,” concludes Councilor Otiniano.
Meanwhile, the municipality insists that the property “is used for the purposes of municipal management.” In practice, these purposes—parking, storage and unloading of dirt—are proof that the sporting heart of Miraflores It sinks between bureaucracy and clearing.
” title=” Ambulances, motorcycles and even tow trucks are kept in the coliseum, according to neighbors. Credits: John Reyes / La República.
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Ambulances, motorcycles and even tow trucks are kept in the coliseum, according to neighbors. Credits: John Reyes / La República.
