Abandoned Housing in La Ribera, San Francisco de los Romo, Digi Mart USA News (San Francisco de los Romo, Aguascalientes, Mexico): Authorities have identified approximately 600 abandoned homes in the La Ribera development in San Francisco de los Romo, according to Mayor Margarita Gallegos. The abandonment affects conditions across the entire housing development, mainly because of squatting and because some of these properties have become distribution and sales points for drugs.
The mayor said she has presented the problem to the director general of INFONAVIT to seek alternatives for recovering the properties. The estimate of about 600 abandoned homes represents a share of roughly 22,000 houses in La Ribera, though the problem affects the development as a whole.
Gallegos explained that one of the main obstacles is that several of these homes are involved in litigation and therefore cannot be assigned until their legal status is resolved. Officials have proposed negotiating with owners to free the homes and then offer them to interested buyers, including police officers.
According to the mayor, the proposal was referred for analysis, as owners are usually identified and a favorable response is expected. The municipality is still seeking a solution to the abandonment of the properties and to the presence of people occupying them irregularly.
In separate remarks, Gallegos said the federal government is effectively squeezing municipalities through a federal budget adjustment that cut 15 million Mexican pesos in resources. As a result, the municipal administration will maintain strict austerity measures, and the budget for the local fair was reduced from 37 million to 10 million pesos.
She stated that priorities and basic services are guaranteed and that the municipality will seek to raise more revenue based on its own income. Regarding the water service, the mayor said overdue accounts currently total 104 million pesos, and promotional efforts have encouraged residents to bring their payments up to date.
Gallegos lamented that collection is difficult because of widespread water theft, which she said reflects a lack of awareness about the obligation to pay for water. She also noted that Aguascalientes is in a water-crisis zone and that a culture of water conservation must be strengthened.
