Once again, it is urgent to understand the importance of modernizing our State, at least on an operational level so that the country functions properly on a daily basis.
By Marta Canto and María Teresa Cortés, representatives of Pivots
For some time we have been observing the prolonged paralysis of a series of projects, public and private, as a result of archaeological finds. The main reason he realizes is the delay in response times from the National Monuments Council.
The particular case of this public institution draws attention because there is a consensus that we all seek to adequately care for and protect cultural heritage and that Chile is a developing country, therefore, it is necessary to reconcile with special care the care of said heritage with regional and national progress.
Once again, it is urgent to understand the importance of modernizing our State, at least on an operational level so that the country functions properly on a daily basis.
The processes and procedures that must be resolved by the National Monuments Council, dependent on the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, require precision and timeliness, just like other public services, not only because of the significant amounts that are often involved when a project is stopped, but also and mainly, because of the impact that an excessively late response generates on the population.
In the Rivers Region, it is possible to observe the negative effect that this type of project stoppages based on archaeological findings has had on the quality of life of the inhabitants. Examples of this are the improvement of Pedro de Valdivia and Chile squares; the restoration of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Valdivia; the expansion of the city’s MOP building; different sections of roads, as well as the construction of the new Union hospital, just to mention a few cases at the public level.
The new La Unión hospital, for example, means an investment of 85 million dollars in infrastructure and 27 million dollars in equipment that will benefit the communes of La Unión, Paillaco and Futrono, providing health coverage to approximately 54,000 inhabitants. What is happening here is not minor, since the response times of the National Monuments Council have not been up to the public requirements in such basic needs of the population as health.
The question we ask ourselves is how much more this situation is replicated throughout the country, attacking the legitimate development and well-being of the people. Chile deserves to have a Council of National Monuments that accounts for a modern, decentralized organic structure and with the appropriate human, management and material resources to identify, preserve and value the cultural heritage as appropriate, a pending task for the authorities that It should be resolved through an effective short law or through the modification of Law No. 17,288 on National Monuments and Related Regulations.
