Parque Indoamericano
Encyclopedia
Parque Indoamericano is a park
in the Villa Soldati
and Villa Lugano
neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It covers approximately 130 hectares (330 acres), and is thus the second-biggest park in the city.
followed, and during the military dictatorship
that took power in 1976, Mayor Osvaldo Cacciatore
had the Cildáñez stream tubed for flood control
.
His administration announced plans in 1978 to convert the undeveloped plain into a public recreational area through two projects: the Parque de la Ciudad
(an amusement park
) and the Parque Zoofitogeográfico.
The latter would include an arboretum
and be the new location for the Buenos Aires Zoo
. The amusement park was inaugurated in 1982, but an economic crisis and irregularities in the contact for the arboretum's development and concession led to the projects cancellation (the zoo remained in its Palermo
neighborhood location).
The park, located far from most of the city's residential or business areas, suffered from neglect in the ensuing years, and what would have been a reservoir along its northern end, Lake Soldati, became a shantytown
known as Los Piletones. UCR
Councilman Carlos Louzán ultimately obtained passage of a resolution for the construction of a city park in the remaining areas 1993, and on December 1, 1995, Mayor Jorge Domínguez inaugurated the Parque Indoamericano.
His successor, Mayor Fernando de la Rúa
, inaugurated the Paseo Islas Malvinas ("Falkland Islands
Promenade") in April 1999. The promenade features a memeorial to the fallen, including an eternal flame
and 649 cypress
es (one for each fallen Argentine serviceman in the 1982 conflict). Mayor Jorge Telerman
followed these works with the December 2006 inaugural of the Paseo de los Derechos Humanos ("Human Rights
Promenade"), a memorial to the estimated 30,000 dissidents murdered during the Dirty War
, thirty years earlier.
stated "It's not a park. It's just a field with lots of weeds on it." Flanked by shantytowns on both the northern and southern ends, much of the remaining prairie in the Indoamerican Park was occupied by squatters on December 9, 2010. A census of the occupants was conducted four days after the takeover, and reported 13,333 persons in the park; at least 80% of the more than 13,000 squatters, colloquially
known as Okupas from ocupar in Spanish language
, had homes in one of the slums outside the park.
n and Paraguay
an in origin, and reaction from the largely working class
residents in the park's vicinity was, at times, violent. Two deaths among the squatters were reported: Bernardo Salgueiro (22 years old, Paraguayan) and Rosemarie Churapuña (28 years old, Bolivian) died. The deaths of 1 Paraguayan and 3 Bolivians were reported in Paraguayan media
. Clashes between police and the squatters have left three people dead and 14 others injured according to CNN
. The standoff also prompted a political conflict between the Mayor of Buenos Aires Mauricio Macri
(who was called a "xenophobe
" by the President's Cabient Chief, Aníbal Fernández
) and the President of Argentina
, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
.
National Border Guards and the Navy
's Albatros Special Forces
secured the perimeter of the park and prevented the ingression of persons not previously living in the park and any construction materials. After an agreement between Macri and Kirchner in which the City will match funds provided by the central government to the squatters, Chief Cabinet secretary Aníbal Fernández announced the clearing of the park via a Twitter
post shortly after 6:30am local time.
After initial deadlock in negotiations between the national and city governments, both jurisdictions eventually reached an agreement to clear the park of illegal inhabitants, including providing low-cost loans for housing construction to former squatters; the park was cleared by the morning of 15 December 2010.
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
in the Villa Soldati
Villa Soldati
Villa Soldati is a neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina, located in the South-West of the city. It has a population of approximately 41,000 people, 40 % of which live in Barrio Soldati, a public housing development built between 1973 and 1979....
and Villa Lugano
Villa Lugano
Villa Lugano is a neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina, located in the West of the city. It has a population of approximately 114,000 people....
neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It covers approximately 130 hectares (330 acres), and is thus the second-biggest park in the city.
Overview
Located on a flood-prone plain in what was, until the middle of the 20th century, the southwestern outskirts of Buenos Aires, the park began to take shape during the 1960s, when the area was designated as the Parque Almirante Brown redevelopment zone. The construction of public housingPublic housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
followed, and during the military dictatorship
National Reorganization Process
The National Reorganization Process was the name used by its leaders for the military government that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as la última junta militar or la última dictadura , because several of them existed throughout its history.The Argentine...
that took power in 1976, Mayor Osvaldo Cacciatore
Osvaldo Cacciatore
Osvaldo Cacciatore was an Argentine Air Force officer and former de facto Mayor of Buenos Aires during the National Reorganization Process military dictatorship.-Early life:Osvaldo Andrés Cacciatore was born in Buenos Aires in 1924...
had the Cildáñez stream tubed for flood control
Flood control
In communications, flood control is a feature of many communication protocols designed to prevent overwhelming of a destination receiver. Such controls can be implemented either in software or in hardware, and will often request that the message be resent after the receiver has finished...
.
His administration announced plans in 1978 to convert the undeveloped plain into a public recreational area through two projects: the Parque de la Ciudad
Parque de la Ciudad
The Parque de la Ciudad is an amusement park in Buenos Aires, Argentina.-History:The park was planned by the administration of Mayor Osvaldo Cacciatore in 1978. Cacciatore, appointed by Argentina's last military government, envisaged the park as the centerpiece of efforts to revitalize the...
(an amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
) and the Parque Zoofitogeográfico.
The latter would include an arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
and be the new location for the Buenos Aires Zoo
Buenos Aires Zoo
The Buenos Aires Zoo is an zoo in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Zoo contains 89 species of mammals, 49 species of reptiles and 175 species of birds, with a total of over 2,500 different animals...
. The amusement park was inaugurated in 1982, but an economic crisis and irregularities in the contact for the arboretum's development and concession led to the projects cancellation (the zoo remained in its Palermo
Palermo, Buenos Aires
Palermo is a neighborhood, or barrio of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. It is located in the northeast of the city, bordering the barrios of Belgrano to the north, Almagro and Recoleta to the south, Villa Crespo and Colegiales to the west and the Río de la Plata river to the east. With a total...
neighborhood location).
The park, located far from most of the city's residential or business areas, suffered from neglect in the ensuing years, and what would have been a reservoir along its northern end, Lake Soldati, became a shantytown
Villa miseria
A villa miseria is a form of shanty town or slum found in Argentina, mostly around the largest urban settlements. The term is a compound noun made of the Spanish words villa "village, small town" and miseria "misery, dejection"...
known as Los Piletones. UCR
Radical Civic Union
The Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina...
Councilman Carlos Louzán ultimately obtained passage of a resolution for the construction of a city park in the remaining areas 1993, and on December 1, 1995, Mayor Jorge Domínguez inaugurated the Parque Indoamericano.
His successor, Mayor Fernando de la Rúa
Fernando de la Rúa
Fernando de la Rúa is an Argentine politician. He was president of the country from December 10, 1999 to December 21, 2001 for the Alliance for Work, Justice and Education ....
, inaugurated the Paseo Islas Malvinas ("Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
Promenade") in April 1999. The promenade features a memeorial to the fallen, including an eternal flame
Eternal flame
An eternal flame is a flame or torch that burns day and night for an indefinite period. The flame that burned constantly at Delphi was an archaic feature, "alien to the ordinary Greek temple"....
and 649 cypress
Cypress
Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is a conifer of northern temperate regions. Most cypress species are trees, while a few are shrubs...
es (one for each fallen Argentine serviceman in the 1982 conflict). Mayor Jorge Telerman
Jorge Telerman
Jorge Telerman is an Argentine politician and journalist. He was the fourth Chief of Government of Buenos Aires City, replacing Aníbal Ibarra between 2006 and 2007...
followed these works with the December 2006 inaugural of the Paseo de los Derechos Humanos ("Human Rights
Human rights in Argentina
The Dirty War, a state-sponsored violence against Argentine citizenry from roughly 1976 to 1983, was carried out primarily by Jorge Rafael Videla's military government, ended years ago, and the human rights situation in Argentina has improved since.-History:...
Promenade"), a memorial to the estimated 30,000 dissidents murdered during the Dirty War
Dirty War
The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...
, thirty years earlier.
Incidents at the park in 2010
These improvements, built mainly along the park's western end, left much of the extensive area still undeveloped. Cabinet Chief Aníbal FernándezAníbal Fernández
Aníbal Domingo Fernández is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician, who served as Interior Minister for President Néstor Kirchner, Minister of Justice for President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and is currently the President's Cabinet Chief.-Biography:Born in Quilmes, Buenos Aires Province,...
stated "It's not a park. It's just a field with lots of weeds on it." Flanked by shantytowns on both the northern and southern ends, much of the remaining prairie in the Indoamerican Park was occupied by squatters on December 9, 2010. A census of the occupants was conducted four days after the takeover, and reported 13,333 persons in the park; at least 80% of the more than 13,000 squatters, colloquially
Lunfardo
Lunfardo is a dialect originated and developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the lower classes in Buenos Aires and the surrounding Gran Buenos Aires, and from there spread to other cities nearby, such as Rosario and Montevideo, cities with similar socio-cultural situations...
known as Okupas from ocupar in Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, had homes in one of the slums outside the park.
Riots
The squatters were mostly BoliviaBolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
n and Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
an in origin, and reaction from the largely working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
residents in the park's vicinity was, at times, violent. Two deaths among the squatters were reported: Bernardo Salgueiro (22 years old, Paraguayan) and Rosemarie Churapuña (28 years old, Bolivian) died. The deaths of 1 Paraguayan and 3 Bolivians were reported in Paraguayan media
Media of Paraguay
As in many South American countries, radio is an important disseminator of information in Paraguay. More than 70 commercial and community radio stations broadcast daily across the nation. Paraguay also has four television stations and, as of 2004, about 750,000 households with televisions...
. Clashes between police and the squatters have left three people dead and 14 others injured according to CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
. The standoff also prompted a political conflict between the Mayor of Buenos Aires Mauricio Macri
Mauricio Macri
Mauricio Macri is an Argentine businessman turned politician, and Head of Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Son of Francisco Macri, a businessman of Italian origin prominent in the industrial and construction sectors, he represented the City of Buenos Aires in the Lower House of...
(who was called a "xenophobe
Xenophobe
Xenophobe may refer to:* Xenophobia, the fear of people who are different from one's self.* Xenophobe , a 1987 video game....
" by the President's Cabient Chief, Aníbal Fernández
Aníbal Fernández
Aníbal Domingo Fernández is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician, who served as Interior Minister for President Néstor Kirchner, Minister of Justice for President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and is currently the President's Cabinet Chief.-Biography:Born in Quilmes, Buenos Aires Province,...
) and the President of Argentina
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner , commonly known as Cristina Fernández or Cristina Kirchner is the 55th and current President of Argentina and the widow of former President Néstor Kirchner. She is Argentina's first elected female president, and the second female president ever to serve...
.
National Border Guards and the Navy
Argentine Navy
The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....
's Albatros Special Forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
secured the perimeter of the park and prevented the ingression of persons not previously living in the park and any construction materials. After an agreement between Macri and Kirchner in which the City will match funds provided by the central government to the squatters, Chief Cabinet secretary Aníbal Fernández announced the clearing of the park via a Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
post shortly after 6:30am local time.
After initial deadlock in negotiations between the national and city governments, both jurisdictions eventually reached an agreement to clear the park of illegal inhabitants, including providing low-cost loans for housing construction to former squatters; the park was cleared by the morning of 15 December 2010.
Reactions
- President of BoliviaPresident of BoliviaThe President of Bolivia is head of state and head of government of Bolivia. According to the current Constitution, the president is elected by popular vote to a five year term, renewable once...
Evo MoralesEvo MoralesJuan Evo Morales Ayma , popularly known as Evo , is a Bolivian politician and activist, currently serving as the 80th President of Bolivia, a position that he has held since 2006. He is also the leader of both the Movement for Socialism party and the cocalero trade union...
called on Bolivians in the park to disperse, stating that their actions decrease the status of all Bolivians in Argentina. - Mayor of Buenos Aires Mauricio MacriMauricio MacriMauricio Macri is an Argentine businessman turned politician, and Head of Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Son of Francisco Macri, a businessman of Italian origin prominent in the industrial and construction sectors, he represented the City of Buenos Aires in the Lower House of...
called the incident "an uncontrolled migration" and said that the city government will continue working to "recover the park". - Maria Eugenia Vidal, the minister of social development, stated that the national governmentGovernment of ArgentinaThe government of Argentina, functioning within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential representative democratic republic. The President of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. Legislative power is vested in both the...
will continue to give out food around the park. - Buenos Aires City Cabinet Chief Horacio Rodríguez Larreta stated that "there is a mafiaMafiaThe Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
behind the situation at the Parque Indoamericano, which is trying to make a business by dividing the park into lots and offering the pieces of land to the neighbours of Villa SoldatiVilla SoldatiVilla Soldati is a neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina, located in the South-West of the city. It has a population of approximately 41,000 people, 40 % of which live in Barrio Soldati, a public housing development built between 1973 and 1979....
", and that the squatters' leader Alejandro Salvatierra "is a Kirchnerite picketer that works for former education minister Daniel Filmus. Salvatierra is the one who encouraged the squatters to take the park."
External links
- Parque Indoamericano
- flickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
Villa Soldati, Villa Lugano, Buenos Aires Dec. 11, 2010 - flickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
Soldati / Lugano Dec. 14, Buenos Aires Dec. 14, 2010