Cartagena plans to create a tolerance zone outside the historic center

Cartagena is going through controversial days in terms of tourism. This week’s scandals over the collapse of a carriage horse and the indignation aroused by a couple having sex on a balcony in the historic center of the capital of Bolivar was added this Saturday a recurring concern to the ‘inside the “stone corralito”: micro-trafficking, prostitution and sexual exploitation, for which the local administration would formulate an alternative.

That, after the second administrative court of the Cartagena circuit admitted last Friday, July 9, a guardianship filed against the mayor’s office by officials of the office of the mediator and the collective “Somos Centro Histórico”, which They demand that such activities be prohibited, as well as the violation of land uses established in the POT and noise pollution, deemed excessive, in the tourist area par excellence. from the city.

In the words of Isabella Restrepo, director of the aforementioned group, “Since the closure of Tesca, prostitution has spread throughout the city and in the historic center it has proliferated due to night tourism”, underlined the spokesperson.

In a statement, Somos Centro Histórico insists that excessive night-time tourism in the historic center endangers Cartagena’s permanence on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Y hasta proponen “que en el Plan de Ordenamiento Territorial (POT) is created a zona de tolerancia en las afueras de la ciudad, lejos de barrios con uso residencial, y establezcan licencias de funcionamiento para la operación de comercios como existen en otras ciudades from the country”.

“It is no longer possible to walk with children and family at night in the historic center of Cartagena without being exposed to a scandal involving prostitutes, drunkards; with fights, sexual relations or the sale and consumption of drugs “, Catalina Pardo, a resident of the Historic Center, said in this regard, quoted by the newspaper El Tiempo.

Well, on demand, RCN News reports that city mayor William Dau has confirmed his interest in developing the idea of ​​creating a tolerance zone that allows all these activities to be transferred to another neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. which it has not yet been selected.

According to the local newspaper El Universal, the president pointed out that “I have already discussed the proposal with several people and yes, I think that like in many other cities in the world, a pink zone should be created for this guy. activity and obviously not it can be at the Center ”. Likewise, he acknowledged that “the idea I had was to set up a well-appointed pink zone, which is part of the attractiveness of the city but regulated, an area which offers safety and hygiene”.

This, he concluded, could be developed through the creation of a public-private alliance that attracts investment to the city and ensures the long-term sustainability of the idea. Thus, increased health and regulatory control could be exercised over these activities.

It should be recalled that due to the balcony that triggered this petition, Lieutenant-Colonel Oscar Eduardo Pachón, deputy commander of the Metropolitan Police of Cartagena, confirmed that “the two subpoena orders have been issued, applying the National code of coexistence and citizen security. in Article 33, which are behaviors that affect tranquility by performing acts of exhibitionism that generate discomfort for the community “.

Regarding the people, it has not been established whether this was really a couple or a person acquiring a business service in the city. The latter option is, for now, more likely given that it has been established, according to local media, that The woman is an inhabitant of Cartagena who is said to provide sexual services, while the man is a tourist who comes from the interior of the country.

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