Argentina: Five Years After Forced Eviction in Guernica, Families Continue Fight for Homes. Five years ago, during the pandemic, bulldozers razed the shantytown in Guernica as the Buenos Aires Police, under the command of then-Security Minister Sergio Berni, forcefully evicted residents at gunpoint and set some homes on fire. The violence, including gender-based violence, and the death of one activist were the consequences of those events. The provincial government promised to build over 800 homes on the site, but to date, not a single one has been handed over. Although construction, which resumed in November last year after being halted due to a change in national funding, is progressing, the pace is too slow. Of the 853 promised homes, about 160 in sector D are nearly complete. The organized families have formed a commission with architects and engineers to monitor the construction and demand the delivery of finished homes. Currently, five families are again facing eviction orders and are practically homeless. Despite the hardships, activists remain organized and determined to achieve justice. "We suffered gender-based violence, most of us are organized women. Many had to go back to living with their aggressors. We lost a compañera because the guy found her and killed her, leaving a 1-year-old baby," said activist Ana Torrado.
