Trading blame
In quake-hit Mexico, accusations are flying that shoddy construction, official negligence and corruption made the Sept 19 disaster worse.
MEXICO CITY: Mexico is still cleaning up the rubble left by its killer earthquake on Sept 19, but already accusations are flying that shoddy construction, official negligence and corruption made the disaster worse.
The 7.1-magnitude earthquake killed more than 350 people and left gruesome scenes of destruction in the capital, such as a primary school where 19 children were crushed to death.
The mayor, education minister and top officials for the district have traded blame over the school’s collapse, amid media reports that its principal had illegally built a swank apartment for herself on the roof of the building.
Claudia Sheinbaum, the top district official, pressed charges this week against the principal and two former officials accused of turning a blind eye to major construction irregularities at the school.
Residents said that one building at the school was condemned for safety reasons from the moment it opened. But the school never closed. The school is not an isolated case. Across the capital, 1,800 buildings suffered major damage during the quake, including at least seven that were brand new and should have conformed to strict earthquake-resistant building codes.
“Thousands of people have been left out on the street because someone didn’t adequately supervise construction or accepted money to look the other way,” said Max Kaiser, head of anti-corruption programs at the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness.
Corruption is rarely punished in Mexico, and it can be hard to see, even when evidence indicates it is festering beneath the surface.
But the sight of modern-looking buildings collapsing like houses of cards lays bare the rot in the construction and building permit processes, said Mariana Campos of the public policy research centre Mexico Evalua. — AFP