Violence in the mountains of Sinaloa has families seeking refuge

847

More than 350 families from the mountain areas of the state of Sinaloa are waiting for the support of the housing program

Mazatlán, Sin.- Yadira “N” is originally from Pueblito, Concordia municipality , she lives crammed into a small house that she rents in a neighborhood north of the city of Mazatlán, with her two children, her mother and five brothers, who They had to migrate from the mountains to the coast in July 2013, for fear of the violence that is being experienced in the high areas of Sinaloa.

“We arrived here because of the situation of violence, it became very ugly there, it was very risky for both oneself and the children, there were no death threats, but fear terrified us, knowing that so much death had occurred, and we decided to leave, more Well, we were forcibly displaced, ”he says.

Her stay in Mazatlán has not been easy at all, especially because they live “made balls” – as she says herself – in a small house with a single bedroom, living room and kitchen, which they rent at 1,500 pesos per month.

She arrived with her husband, but due to various problems she had to separate from him, now she has to go out to work together with her brothers who are engaged in construction, sometimes cleaning houses or selling cosmetics.

“Between all of us we work and the little that everyone helps out, but the truth is that my children suffer from bronchitis and with the change in the weather it is very tired, and the little that one earns, my mother works at home and I sell Jafra and from time to time I work cleaning houses, because I can’t leave the children alone, and that’s how we take her away, ”he said.

She hopes to be one of the beneficiaries of the 128 feet of house that are planned to be built on a plot of land south of the city of Mazatlán, this with resources approved last year by the State Congress of the order of 10 million pesos, but you are at risk of being lost by not exercising your budget.

We hope that things will accelerate and reach agreements, because we have been fighting for these houses for more than two years and still nothing, they still do not agree.

Yadira

Like Yadira, María “N” from El Coco, Concordia, emigrated to Mazatlán in 2017 with her husband and three children. Given the lack of income, she found it necessary to set up a small stall to support expenses, her husband works as a driver, and between the two of them, they barely get to live.

Tired of struggling, she sees a glimmer of hope in the housing program for displaced families with which it is intended to support 350 families, out of an estimated 600 in Mazatlan, not counting the 400 in Villa Unión and the 400 in the municipal seat of Concordia. In total, there are just over 2,000 families in Sinaloa.

FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER

Karen “N” is a housewife, she lives with her husband and a son in a neighborhood north of the city of Mazatlán. Her husband now works as an assistant on the construction site, but when he lived in Potrerillos, Concordia, he was employed in the construction of the Mazatlán-Durango highway.

They also fled in 2017 due to the violence in the mountains, hoping to have more security and protection here; However, they have had to suffer a lot from one place to another, mainly due to the economic issue that has been exacerbated by Covid-19.

PROGRAM AT RISK

Ángel Gutiérrez, one of the leaders of the Movimiento Amplio Social Sinaloense (MASS), estimates that currently in the city of Mazatlán there will be some 600 families displaced by the violence that come from the mountain areas of Concordia, Rosario and Mazatlán, although not all of them are have approached to apply for housing.

Families displaced by violence in the mountainous area live in rental or loan houses in the city of Mazatlán. Photo: Juan Carlos Ramírez

He assures that the majority of those who do so are single mothers who dedicate themselves to housework to obtain an income and survive in irregular settlements or rented houses with payments of 1,200 to 1,800 pesos per month.

In the list of applicants for housing, there are families that are close to each other or with houses loaned out during the invasions of San Antonio, Canaco and Miguel Hidalgo, as well as displaced persons who pay rent in Valles del Ejido, Lomas del Ébano, Flores Magón, Prados de Sol, Alborada, among other neighborhoods in the periphery.

He refers that although the need is great, the resources that are available to build only 45 complete houses or make 128 feet of house, another proposal would be the construction of 60 houses on multiple-use land, which includes three houses on a single plot of land.

However, if the resources approved by the State Congress are not exercised by December 15, they may be lost.

Hence, these families are organizing to pressure and the authorities make the necessary agreements to be able to start building immediately if not, the struggle that began more than two years ago will be in vain, when the 10 million pesos approved by Congress they become a sub-exercise due to lack of execution.

Source: elsoldemazatlan.com.mx

The Mazatlan Post