Venezuelan Transport Minister Francisco Garcés leads a meeting with governors and mayors to coordinate reconstruction and repair works following the June 24 earthquake. Photo: YVKE.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—On Sunday, Venezuela’s Presidential Commission for the Evaluation of Housing Habitability and Infrastructure, led by Transport Minister Francisco Garcés, held a working meeting with the governors and mayors of Aragua, La Guaira, Miranda, and the Capital District to establish technical protocols for evaluating and repairing non-structural masonry and launching the second phase of reconstruction.
On Monday, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced the launch of popular reconstruction brigades to accelerate this new phase of recovery following the catastrophic June 24 double earthquake.
Minister Garcés reported that preliminary agreements have been established to determine “some forms of intervention in the coming week to repair the structures.”
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He added that officials are also “establishing the technical guidelines for the shoring up of those structures that require shoring up.”
Garcés noted that technical criteria were reviewed alongside local realities to establish intervention mechanisms in compliance with instructions from Acting President Rodríguez to ensure “this repair be done safely, with technical, transparent, and appropriate criteria.”
Garcés stated that by next week, “we will have the technical protocols to repair structures with minor damage, and subsequently, we will present the technical protocol for the repair of severe structural damage,” providing a certified framework for all levels of intervention.
He highlighted that, to date, over 30,000 structures have been evaluated across Caracas and the six affected states—Miranda, Aragua, La Guaira, Carabobo, Falcón, and Yaracuy—allowing the second phase of reconstruction to proceed based on technical assessments.
Garcés confirmed that municipal offices will be enabled to process proposals and repair notifications. “We have agreed in this meeting that repairs requested from the municipalities will not incur any fees,” he said.
He added that technical teams will deploy to certify structures marked with a red label in order to conduct complementary studies and determine the specific procedures required for each property.
Popular reconstruction brigades
On Monday, July 27, from the 23 de Enero parish in Caracas, Acting President Rodríguez announced the popular reconstruction brigades to accelerate recovery under the Venezuela Reborn Plan.
These brigades will operate as local, direct-action units organized nationwide within public works and community recovery initiatives. Rodríguez explained that the brigades are being equipped with tool kits and machinery to assist directly in housing recovery efforts.
“I want to highlight the organization of People’s Power in the Venezuela Reborn Plan. Every step we are taking is alongside the community and families who are involved in this process of Venezuela’s recovery. We are going to recover Venezuela. We are going to rebuild a new Venezuela. Above the rubble stands the will of a people, a new spirituality, a national unity that comes together to solve problems collectively, as a community,” Rodríguez emphasized.
Rodríguez reiterated that “no one is alone,” stating that the national government guarantees comprehensive care to the entire population, particularly those most severely impacted by the disaster.
She announced that 4,000 homes will be completed “between now and December,” enabling families currently residing in temporary shelter camps to move into permanent housing.
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“The Venezuela Reborn Plan is progressing very well. We are intervening, we are recovering, and this is the path for our Venezuela. What is the path for Venezuela? National unity. The historical moments of our independence have been marked by national unity, and this is a moment for national unity. Those who seek to disrupt will simply be overlooked by history, because the Venezuela of goodwill, the good people, are building,” Rodríguez added.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
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