Miguel Molina lives in a windowless brick shack in the heart of Buenos Aires' Villa 31. It’s a shantytown just blocks from high fashion stores and luxury hotels in Argentina's capital. The government is hoping to change things at Villa 31.
Molina’s family of four shares two old mattresses. Water leaks through the zinc roof when it rains. A dusty carpet covers the dirt floor. Clothing and other belongings pile up in the corners. After two decades living like this, Molina hopes the city’s plan will make life in Villa 31 better.
The Buenos Aires government wants to move families who live under an elevated highway in the shantytown into new homes.
It is also offering the area’s 40,000 residents credit to buy land, sewer service, running water, and a connection to the power grid by 2020. There are also plans to open a bank branch, schools, and even a McDonald's restaurant in Villa 31.
"Some people really need this," Molina says. His children used to get ill from the humidity in his leaky house.
But some residents are leery of the project, complaining of the slow pace of the work.
An estimated 275,000 people live in the roughly 50 informal housing settlements in Buenos Aires. The areas spread out with little planning or regulation. The homes often lack basic public services. They are scattered along mazes of mostly unpaved streets with tangled power cables.
Still, residents like Molina see hope in the Villa 31 project.
"It seems like this government is serious about this plan," Molina says. "This means a good future for the children."
(Photo: AP)
