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Rosa Romero never imagined that one day she might be evicted from her modest home near the beach. El SalvadorBut a real estate and tourism boom, as well as a government crackdown on gangs, have pushed it to its limits. Like her, hundreds of poor Salvadorans in El Higuéron, 175 kilometers southeast of the capital, San Salvador, are at risk of losing homes built decades ago on public land.
“My children and I were worried because a lady came and said she owned the land.”The single mother of four said she was the subject of deportation proceedings. His house was built with metal sheets on a dirt floor. There were no partitions inside and no glass in the windows. His two sons, aged 22 and 16, supported the family by fishing. “We live on the sea. If we leave here, how will we live?”she asked herself.
State-owned land
When Rosa Romero was 11, she moved with her sister to live near the beach, among other poor families. The bloody Salvadoran Civil War (1980-1992) had just ended. The land belonged to the state, and authorities had promised to give the families title deeds, but they never did. Until recently, El Higueron Beach was virtually virgin territory, but with the “war” launched by President Nayib Bukele against the criminal gangs who were still terrorizing the area, security improved, attracting tourists and surfers. This also encouraged real estate development.
In August 2022, Mr. Bukele visited nearby Punta Mango to announce the construction of a road to Surf City 2, a hotel and restaurant district that includes El Higueron Beach. Signs indicate “Land for Sale” or “Rooms for rent” On both sides of the road, dozens of workers were building bridges under the scorching sun.
According to the NGO Cristosal and the Salvadoran Ancestral Peoples’ Struggle Integration Movement (Milpa), about 625 families in the area are at risk of eviction. “The seaports are increasingly being monopolized by business groups” Angel Flores, from Milpa, noted that they rely on foreign tourists. The government refuses to discuss the subject. Mr Flores said the megaprojects of Surf City 2 and Pacific Airport (near which the government hopes to build the world’s first “Bitcoin City” – a futuristic metropolis financed by cryptocurrency bonds) had “exploded” land prices, from $3,000 to $28,000 per hectare in two years.
As part of the Pacific Airport project, the government bought back the land from the families who had the title deeds, but others are living in misery. About a hundred kilometers away, on El Zonte Beach, about 125 families also had to be evicted because of the Surf City 1 project, hotels and restaurants. They were promised to relocate them to a nearby mountain, but construction of the houses has stalled.
Facing the beach, a woman who runs a food stall lamented the impending loss of her home and workplace. The 55-year-old trader, who asked not to be named, said she recently learned about her new business. “The little house won’t give him”but she has to buy it. According to the Central American University Institute of Public Opinion (IUDOP), 13 out of every 100 households have “There is uncertainty about the occupation of the land they live on”. “We observe a significant but aggressive gentrification process that limits Salvadorans’ access to housing”condemning IUDOP Director Laura Andrade.
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