TOUR OF THE HABITAT WORLD SEEN BY CIVIL SOCIETY

Ecuador

#Mots-clés : Dernière mise à jour le 7 June 2019

HABITAT

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HISTORY OF CITIES – HERITAGE

URBAN HOUSING

In Ecuador, seven out of ten people live in cities. More than half of built heritage in urban areas has been done outside the regulations, with unique effort to provide themselves citizens living spaces, in the absence of formal and accessible to meet the demands mechanisms.

The response of the poorest groups to solve their vital need room in the cities, is often criminalized, while leaving these groups exposed to manipulation and exploitation of land traffickers. The cities of Ecuador are turning into segregated spaces that marginalize the poor, who can not recognize their role as social builders habitat, denying them their right to the city.

Local governments do not have sufficient capacity to properly administer the territory and its inhabitants provide basic services, security of tenure and environmental safety. (3)

RURAL HOUSING

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LEGAL ASPECTS

RIGHT TO HOUSING

Since 1998

  • Article 23 of the Constitution: Without prejudice the rights established in this Constitution and in international instruments in force, the State recognizes and guarantees all persons the following: the right to a quality of life to ensure the health, nutrition and clean water, sanitation supply, education, labor, employment, leisure, housing, clothing and other necessary social services.
  • Article 32 of the Constitution: To implement the right to housing and environmental protection, municipalities may expropriate reserve areas and control for future development in accordance with the law. The State shall promote programs of social housing.

Source: CETIM (publication COHRE) (1)

The point semblance of social movements (International Alliance of Inhabitants) (3): “The adoption of the new Constitution of Ecuador (Marques Osores 2008), represent a breakthrough for the realization of the right to a dignified city. The text, endorsed on September 28, 2008, replacing the previous Constitution of 1998, innovatively addresses the right to housing and to a decent city. From the Preamble, the scope of the “good life” in Quichua appear -sumak kawsay primary objective of the Nation and fundamental condition for a possible peaceful coexistence in diversity and harmony with nature. There are several economic, social and cultural, individual and collective human rights, which are regulated within the framework of ‘the rights to good living’ (Articles 12-34 of Chapter II), such as the right to water, a healthy environment , habitat and housing, culture and science. The right to housing is embedded in the broader context of the village, according to the new constitution, but also the city and the environment in general, ie that of a “safe and healthy habitat.”

“The right to a dignified city implies the development of urban policies whose objectives are to build an inclusive, shared, respectable, equitable, just, peaceful, supportive and civic city. The new Constitution of Ecuador includes state obligations toward implementing this right for the benefit of vulnerable and excluded groups. For example, Article 37.7 provides that the State guarantees to seniors’ access to housing to ensure a decent life, with respect for their opinion and consent. “

FORCED EVICTION

LAND RIGHTS

LAND GRABBING

According to the report of FIAN Ecuador 2013, the process of land grabbing has accelerated in recent years with the crisis in food prices. The report indicates that the Ecuadorian provinces having the largest acquisition of large-scale farms are areas where this is the food industry, which becomes dynamically export markets mainly for sugar cane, banana and palm oil.

The draft Plan Land redistribution of land to landless peasants began in October 2009 to end poverty and promote sustainability and equity in wealth. It ends in 2013, with an evaluation of program impact, including sanctions for noncompliance with social and environmental function of land and the creation of a fund for the land.

As seen above lines, Article 321 of the Constitution recognizes and guarantees the right to property in its various forms, which must comply with social and environmental functions, in accordance with Article 6 of the LORSA. According to this, the new law should consider that that land ownership that does not meet the social and environmental functions should be subject to agrarian involvement. At this point it is worth remembering that the LDA does not explicitly established sanctions for noncompliance social function, let alone environmental and, unlike the two laws of agrarian reform, reduced to four the grounds on which an agricultural property of Private property may be expropriated. Among these causes, which generally has been applied to expropriate private land has been the reference to lands that remain untapped by the owner for more than two consecutive years. However, failure to pay the price of many of the expropriated land owners affected by the former INDA and currently the Undersecretary of Land and Agrarian Reform MAGAP has been the main impediment for farmers to obtain the actual award land.

VULNERABLE GROUPS

SOME INTERESTING PRACTICES

SOCIAL AND ECONOMOIC ASPECTS

HOUSING MARKET

Housing is in Ecuador one of the most sensitive and complex social problems. In a country of 13 million people and nearly 3 million homes, more than one million of them living in shacks either by overcrowding, inadequate for the constructive characteristics or because they lack the necessary basic services. According to Habitat International Coalition (HIC 2009), each year about 65,000 households that require living spaces, utilities and construction of new urban and social fabric are formed for individual life and social life possible. (3)

QUALITY OF HOUSING

INFORMAL HOUSING / SLUM / HOMELESS

ROLE OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES

Historically: housing policy (3)

In Ecuador have historically been three explicit housing policies. The first born in the twenties, comes from the world of the city and social security. In this case, the concept of housing policy used was “Residential Programs or Projects”. Subsequently, from the 60s, beginning is given to a housing policy that is generalized in Latin America, thanks to the dissemination of the principles and resources from the Alliance for Progress. It is a proposal of a financing scheme that captures domestic savings through the private, cooperative and mutual system and public sector (specifically the Ecuadorian Housing Bank and the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security). Its main axis direct intervention, through the production and promotion of residential units for which the National Housing Board is created.

From the 90s Ecuador experienced an important policy design, based on the Chilean experience turn. The proposal is formulated in a context of transition from a closed economy, led by the State, to one focused on the market. The public and private sectors tend to change their traditional roles: the State ceases to be building houses and final lender, and the private sector creates new integrated capital market, to attract domestic savings and allocate resources institutions. The state spends builder and developer meet regulatory tasks. In this context, the state bank called “unipropósito” (Banco Ecuadorian kind of Housing) by private commercial banks “multipurpose” is replaced.

Fernando Carrión notes (2003) (4), housing finance stems from a threefold consideration: first, the state provides a direct subsidy to the demand, through objective and measurable criteria that are based on concepts of poverty targeting. The proposal is based on a change in the criteria for the granting of subsidies: it travels cross subsidy supply to one that favors the demand. Second, the private sector grants loans across multiple institutions and mechanisms. And third, the user contributes with own savings. (3)

Housing policy (3)

The identified barriers relating to housing finance system are associated with the conditions and cost of credit, which are usually accompanied by the need for submission of collateral that must demonstrate support 125% of the loan amount. There are also two taxes that are applied to credit transactions which together account for 2.6% of the transaction. The time delay for the approval of a loan is generally not as significant (30 days) but the technical approval process at the municipal and utility companies.
In other words, the funding from private institutions to social housing projects is still incipient. There is a high bank risk perception when it comes to funding programs of social interest by the difficulty of getting an approval of projects and capital recovery by the promoters. Generally, in Ecuador’s most operations are directed housing finance and real estate developments for the middle and upper class as Green City or San Patricio projects.

There are very few operations addressed to social housing, they are made mostly as a direct loan to the promoter, which remains the only account debtor. There is also, especially in Quito and Guayaquil, a significant number of projects in which banks have granted direct loans to buyers sponsoring the project promoter itself. However, such projects are not generally aimed at social housing (Correo, 2009).

To prevent the housing deficit increases every year, according to the Chamber of Construction of Quito, it is necessary that each year some 60,000 housing is built nationwide. Currently, the supply of the sectors that cater to medium-low and low levels are limited. According to a report by Market Watch, 45% of families in Quito demanding homes that are located in this segment.

However, few deals of its kind in the country. In Quito there are 10 projects of these characteristics, while in Guayaquil operate six. Mutual Pichincha is an institution that works with projects for this sector. One of them is House List, serving beneficiaries of housing allowances, implemented by the Ministry of the same name. To cover this segment, the Ministry Social Housing Programme has five suppliers. As of December 2008, according to figures from the Portfolio, issued a total of 95,173 bonds. These represented an outlay of $ 339.6 million (Hoy, 2009).

Dispositives (3)

  • The housing bonus: According to official information, the housing bond is a financial aid that the Government delivered the family to reward the effort to save to buy, build or improve housing. It is aimed at families with fewer economic resources, to facilitate access to housing, or housing improvement they already have. The components of housing finance or improvement are: Savings + Bonus + Credit. Saving as a contribution of the beneficiary, must be deposited in a financial institution registered with the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (Housing Ministry). On this basis, the voucher is non-refundable contribution of the State through the Housing Ministry, to facilitate access to housing or improvement. The credit is granted by a financial institution or any other source of funding to complete the value of the home. (3)
  • The titration bonus: The bonus qualification is a subsidy or direct single snap and providing the Ecuadorian State nationwide through the MIDUVI, people of low income, the value of up to US $ 200.00 (two hundred dollars United States of America) to cover the costs of formalization and development prior to obtaining public documents, such as payment of taxes, administrative fees generated in the transfer of title, rights of the notary; and registration of the deed in the Registry of Property of the respective Canton. (3)

ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS

Bibliography & Sitography

  1. CETIM (publicación COHRE)
  2. FIAN, Monitoreo de políticas de tierra y el derecho a la alimentación en el Ecuador, Informe 2013, pp 116.
  3. Alianza Internacional de Habitantes, « Políticas alternativas de vivienda en América latina y el Caribe », 2013 coord Paul Maquet Makedonski, pp. 33 a 36.
  4. Carrion M. Fernando, “El problema de la vivienda en Ecuador”. Publicado en Diario Hoy, Quito, enero 2003.

FROM SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

Major problems

Major claims

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Some actors from social movements