El Ciudadano
Original article: Los $47 mil millones de Poduje para no expropiar: víctimas y expertos cuestionan la cifra en Colonia Dignidad
Chile’s Controversial $47 Billion Estimation for Colonia Dignidad Expropriation Raises Eyebrows
«This is a trick to avoid expropriating Colonia Dignidad and maintain that German enclave,» stated lawyer Winfried Hempel, commenting on the $47 billion figure used by Housing Minister Iván Poduje as a reason to halt the expropriation process.
Hempel, who was born in the settlement and represents victims of human rights abuses from the early 1960s to the 1990s, believes the valuation amount proposed by the José Antonio Kast government is exaggerated.
«We will reverse the expropriation of Colonia Dignidad and issue a decree that cancels the one that initiated the plan,» Poduje announced over the weekend, dismissing the continuation of the process initiated by former President Gabriel Boric’s administration concerning 117 hectares of the German enclave, which aims to transform the area into a site of memory.
«Only the urban part is estimated at $47 billion. I do not have that money,» he defended his position, suggesting that the measure reflects a lack of available resources.
In an interview with DW, the lawyer indicated that this figure arises from a calculation assuming each hectare is valued at $800 million, a significantly higher amount than the going rate in the Parral commune, Province of Linares, where the enclave is located, which is around $50 million per hectare.
«Inexplicable Figures» Indicate Lack of Political Will
In the same vein, Margarita Romero, president of the Association for Memory and Human Rights Colonia Dignidad, argued that there is no public basis for verifying the value indicated by the Housing Minister and noted that the halt to the expropriation is not merely an administrative decision.
«Rather, what is observed is the use of the economic argument as a political justification to stop the expropriation,» she asserted.
In light of the absurdity of the $47 billion proposed by Kast’s administration, the association, alongside other organizations, has requested a new appraisal, considering the existence of previous valuations that have not been published or verified. Among them is the one commissioned by Germany to GIZ in 2028, its agency specializing in sustainable development cooperation, which diverges significantly from the figure provided by the housing minister.
«Minister Poduje claims not to have the money to conduct appraisals and prefers to stick with inexplicable figures demonstrating a lack of political will. He uses the argument of high costs without providing an official figure or allowing the appraisal process to be carried out under normal technical conditions,» the leader questioned.
«For the victims, this is a signal of abandonment. It tells them that even when the State officially recognizes a place as a site of abduction, torture, and forced disappearance, this acknowledgment can be relativized for political or budgetary reasons,» the historian explained to DW.
Despite the halt imposed by the far-right government, she emphasized that civil society organizations «will continue working on the development of the future site of memory at the former Colonia Dignidad, as well as in the pursuit of truth and justice for the crimes committed there.»
The State of Chile’s Commitment to the Colonia Dignidad Case
From Germany, psychologist, historian, and researcher on Colonia Dignidad, Evelyn Hevia, noted that in light of the «emergency» thesis presented by Kast’s administration since taking office, which has included budget cuts to ministries and a historic rise in fuel prices, it was not surprising that the suspension of the expropriation process for the enclave founded in 1961 by Nazi leader Paul Schäfer, which later became a center for detention, torture, and extermination during the Pinochet dictatorship, was announced.
In her view, it was expected that «projects of this nature with the associated costs would be halted.»
However, she reminded that the State of Chile has a commitment to the Colonia Dignidad case.
«This commitment is not only about settling debts regarding memories, justice, and truth for the victims but also about providing a response to the victims who still live there and are disputing the inheritance of the property,» she declared to DW.
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