Campamento (Chilean term)
Encyclopedia
A campamento or población callampa ("mushroom town") are terms given in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 to shanty towns. The term "mushroom town" refers to the speed in which these informal settlements sprung up between the 1960s and the 1980s, literally overnight. Nowadays the term "campamento" has replaced "mushroom town".

Definition

According to NGO Un Techo para Chile ("A roof for Chile"), a campamento is defined as a group of crude dwellings of more than eight families, lacking at least one of the following basic service
Basic service
In telecommunications, basic service is:1. A pure transmission capability over a communication path that is virtually transparent in terms of its interaction with customer-supplied information....

s: drinking water
Drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...

, electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...

 and wastewater treatment
Wastewater Treatment
Wastewater treatment may refer to:* Sewage treatment* Industrial wastewater treatment...

, and which are illegally residing on the land.

Population

As of 2004, there were 531 campamentos in Chile. A total of 27,785 houses were home to 32,371 families in these shanty towns. It was estimated that 75% of that population was living below the national poverty line and 41% living under extreme poverty
Extreme poverty
Extreme poverty, as defined in 1996 by Joseph Wresinski, the founder of ATD Fourth World, is:"The lack of basic security connotes the absence of one or more factors enabling individuals and families to assume basic responsibilities and to enjoy fundamental rights. The situation may become...

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