From PERIÓDICO CENTRÓPOLIS and CORPOCENTRO we are convinced that there are many more good things that our territory has than those negative ones that affect it. These positive aspects are rarely mentioned in the media and from these pages we make an effort to make them visible, as in this edition in which we talk about the revival of music of yesteryear at the Hotel Nutibara, the urban gardens that contribute to the diet of our population and groups that work for the women of commune 10.
However, we cannot hide the fact that a part of the center of Medellín is immersed in great problems that continue to grow uncontrollably, without the district administration taking substantive measures to control them, and on the contrary, it seems that it was contrary to citizen requests, of the business community and multiple sectors that have been speaking out about what is happening in commune 10.
One of the most mentioned and media cases is the one related to the closure of Plaza Botero, which has had pronouncements against it both locally and internationally. Even the teacher Fernando Botero himself spoke out against the measure taken by Mayor Daniel Quintero. Although an improvement of the problems can be seen in that polygon, they did not become extinct, but rather moved. Now a few blocks away is all the activity of prostitution, sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, micro-trafficking and theft.
On the other hand, without any agreement and contrary to the work that had been carried out by the Mayor’s Office with the commercial and civic associations, the Subsecretariat for Public Space reactivated the delivery of new permits for informal innkeepers that had been frozen for more than 15 years and of which they expect to grant more than three thousand in the remainder of 2023. It is important to take into account that since 2017 the number of sales in public space grew by more than 100%, going from about 17 thousand to 35 thousand at the end of December.
To top it off, the cleaning of the streets and the efforts to decorate and beautify the roads and road separators, we will see. At the close of this edition, the Infrastructure Secretariat had not signed the contracts for these tasks, which are carried out very efficiently by Emvarias and the Medellín Botanical Garden. Not having these contracts has made the center look neglected, dirty and the bad odors generated by excrement swarm throughout the territory.
These three examples are just the tip of the iceberg that has plunged the center into one of the saddest times and that we did not live in decades, including when drug trafficking was waging a war against institutions.
The mayor Daniel Quintero, his secretaries and the Manager of the Center, still have the possibility of turning around the problems of the center, but must do so by listening to the actors who know the territory, who continue to bet that commune 10 can be a friendlier space for everyone.
It may also interest you: One month after the closure of Plaza Botero, what has happened there and in its surroundings?