A group of unidentified people forced their way into the Cardenal Raúl Silva Henríquez Family Health Center (Cesfam) in Bajos de Mena, Puente Alto, on the night of Thursday, October 15. They wrecked parts of the facility and sprayed workers with dry chemicals from fire extinguishers.
According to Emol, a security guard suffered various injuries while trying to stop the attackers. Municipal personnel and Carabineros arrived at the scene, including the Public Order Control (COP) team, which used water cannons to disperse the groups.
According to T13, the incidents began at around 21:00. Dozens of people erected barricades and blocked traffic near the facility. A group of around eight people then entered the health center, intimidated staff and damaged windows, computers and fans.
The protests began after officials from the Housing and Urban Development Service (Serviu) and the Presidential Delegation delivered notice that same morning of the eviction of the El Volcán 2 settlement, scheduled for next week. Preliminary information suggests the attack may have been retaliation by residents affected by the measure.
Damage was initially estimated at 30 million pesos. The facility canceled all scheduled appointments for this Friday, October 16.
Puente Alto Mayor Matías Toledo arrived at the health center to assess the damage. "Serviu is carrying out an eviction from longstanding apartments right next door, urban regeneration, and people are protesting," he said. He added that they would not "tolerate people coming to attack something they themselves used for so many years".
Regarding staff, the mayor said that "the workers are fine, but they are shaken." He also said that during the night the health center treated a baby who arrived with problems caused by tear gas.
Toledo, who has had public disagreements with the presidential delegate and former mayor of the municipality, Germán Codina, pointed to the central government. "The situation clearly could have been anticipated; the public safety teams reported this yesterday. We reported this to the Presidential Delegation, I have the email, and nobody came," he said.
The mayor added that the Carabineros officer stationed at the facility was withdrawn three months ago, despite a commitment made by previous governments. He said he had to go personally to the 66th Police Station to ask for help and that COP arrived an hour later. The sources do not report whether anyone has been detained or whether the Presidential Delegation has responded.
