Luis Escobar / La Paz
The owners of the work in the Calacoto area —where three workers were buried and only one escaped alive— built the pillars, began to make the box for the elevators, but did not raise the retaining wall. Despite having the plans approved by the Mayor’s Office of Palca, the owners did not have the authorization to carry out earthworks in this municipality and in La Paz, and they also carried out all the work without the supervision of technicians from the municipal governments.
For the execution of the work, in addition, the company did not give protection to the workers – who do not have medical insurance – according to testimonies. These four irregularities were added to the enormous landslide that buried the workers.
“They already had a construction. The columns of the first level and the elevator shafts, which are reinforced concrete structures, were made, but there were no signs of a retaining wall in the sector, ”he told page seven Vladimir Vargas, emergency director of the Mayor’s Office of La Paz.
According to the professional, the construction company gave priority to “elements that it should not have.” “The first thing they had to do was stabilize the sector with the retaining walls in the face of the aggressive cuts,” she said.
The building was to be located on Calle 15 de Calacoto on Álamos Avenue, at the upper end of the river. The works began with the removal of a large amount of earth until reaching a 90-degree cut, Vargas said. “We have been receiving reports of aggressive earth movements since March,” he added.
You can also read: 50,000 constructions in the city of La Paz were authorized in other municipalities
The Mayor’s Office of La Paz issued a series of notifications of stoppage of works to the company Disa SRL, a member of Grupo Salinas. But the owners did not meet the requirements because they alleged that this property is in Palca’s jurisdiction.
The mayor of La Paz, Iván Arias, described the construction as illegal. “We had prohibited them from continuing, but they just put it in and there are the consequences,” he said. He announced criminal proceedings against the company and the Palca officials who “authorized” this construction.
Vargas, director of emergencies in La Paz, said that Palca had to supervise the work and prevent this tragedy from occurring. “We were not able to paralyze because they did not allow us to enter the work. The owners always told us that they had Palca’s approval”, he stated.
The mayor of Palca, David Luna, told Página Siete that they do not appropriate the La Paz territory and explained that this sector appears in Real Rights as part of their jurisdiction. “We do not credit the actual folio. It is a national document and it states that this sector belongs to Palca. When they arrive with this document, we cannot reject the procedures they want to carry out, ”he said.
Luna clarified that the approval of plans and construction permits must be differentiated, which are two different procedures in his municipality. “In the administrative part, we did approve the construction plans, but we did not give the construction permit, which is very different,” he assured.
According to Luna, by not requesting construction permits, the company committed “an irresponsibility.”
“Therefore, we are going to initiate a lawsuit against the company. At no time did we give the construction permit, it is irresponsible of the company”. “It was made clear that they could not carry out earthworks and the company ignored Palca. Since they did not have authorization, this tragedy happened,” he said.
the new project
- Building The Salinas group has a project to build the Ataraxia building and has begun to offer apartments with one, two and three bedrooms. According to the designs, this building should have 10 floors and a terrace.
- Rejection In December 2021, Pablo Salinas, legal representative of Disa SRL, sent a note to the South Sub-Mayor’s Office of La Paz in which he indicates that being registered in Palca, it is not the responsibility of the Mayor’s Office of La Paz “to carry out a technical audit , territorial about our project”.
Disa company ensures that it complied with the entire standard
The company Disa SRL, a member of the Salinas group, assured that it complied with all regulations and technical aspects in the construction of its 10-story building on Calle 15 de Calacoto. The firm said that the landslide that caused the death of two workers occurred due to “elements of nature that are beyond human control and beyond calculation.”
“The company had all the authorizations from the Municipal Government of Palca,” said Sergio Medina, a lawyer for the firm. Asked why they went to Palca and not to La Paz for the approval of plans, he replied that the jurisdiction and property rights are not determined by the mayors’ offices, but Real Rights. “The company, when it acquired the plot of land, was with its location in the municipality of Palca and (in the Real Folio) it appears as a Palca property”, assured the professional.
Why didn’t they build the retaining wall first? Medina explained that “the construction stage was not reached.” He assured that the works were beginning with the construction of the piles. “Precisely, in the area where the landslide occurred, the boxing of the future elevators was done. The construction phase of the retaining walls was not entered, both to contain the road and to contain the adjoining lots, ”he said.
The Mayor’s Office of La Paz assured that the retaining walls are a priority, but Medina asserted that the opinion of its technicians and engineers is different. “Obviously the last thing you want is for these tragedies to happen. There was no negligence or lack of foresight,” he added.
The lawyer indicated that “despite” having all the guarantees, “there are these elements of nature that are beyond human control and beyond calculation.”
