Jesús María Pérez, a garbage man from Bogotá. Photo by AFP
They appear as ghosts at dusk and they pull overloaded carts on the streets of Bogotá in search of the trash of others alleviating their poverty.
Pushing traffic, recyclers roam affluent neighborhoods from the Colombian capital to scrutinize the trash cans for a few pieces of garbage they had accumulated in exchange for a handful of money.
They are an army of men, women and sometimes children in misery, many of them migrants from neighboring Venezuela.
They are pulling large wooden crates on two wheels and face the hardship promised by the candidates for the May 29 presidential election who will fight in one of the most unequal countries in the world.
They were an army of poor men, women and sometimes children, many of them migrants from neighboring Venezuela. Photo by AFP
difficulty
Far from the range of problems plaguing the country, candidates from various streams agreed to denounce a worsening poverty in Colombia (39%) and informally, which according to official figures, it affects 43.5% of the 50 million inhabitants.
In 2020, approximately 25,000 recyclers They made a living from this activity as the main source of income in Bogotá, but most had no job or legal benefits.
On average, earn between three and four dollars a dayÁlvaro Nocua, head of the association of recyclers “Give me your hand,” told AFP.
Wearing a black hat and a fresh smile, Jesús María Pérez, 52, walks the streets collecting garbage. He left Venezuela, where he was a cook, and lived in Colombia for five years.
“this life is hardbut it’s my only option to survive (…) I don’t have the papers (documents) ”that allow me to have a formal job, he confesses.
Collecting plastics, glass bottles and cardboard, he struggles to collect a few pesos covering necessities. Between renting his room in a boarding house and the cost of parking his cart, he had about a quarter of a dollar left for food. So he sells candy, to make up for it.
On average, they earn three to four dollars a day. Photo by AFP
Small money
“They don’t have enough to eat …”, the man refused to leave his country due to inflation caused by sick oil power.
To drag the cart where he stacked the collected material, he had to use the strength of his arms. Since 2014 the authorities They prohibit the use of donkeys or horses in this activity.
Usually see the whole family: parents looking in the trash, kids waiting in the car. Bogotá produces 7,500 tons of waste daily and 16% is recycled.
A few kilometers later, Jesús stopped in front of a modern building to sort garbage from a container in the center of Bogotá.
The garbage they collect going to the “warehouse”, a few kilometers away, a smelly indoor complex full of paper, plastic and glass piled up.
Martha Muñoz, the site’s owner, acts as a mediator between recyclers, many of whom are “indigent”, and large waste sorting stations.
In 2013, capital waste collectors obtained official recognition allowing them to receive, through authorized associations, a minimum income from the mayor’s office.
In 2013, garbage collectors in the capital gained official recognition. Photo by AFP
Gustavo Petro then ran for mayor in Bogotá, now a leftist candidate for the presidency and a favorite in all polls.
Senator and former guerrilla including garbage collectors in the garbage collection plan public and formalized his office.
After the pandemic and economic collapse, recyclers protested in the streets to ask for help.
In the evening, Jesus returns to his hut room in a slum and cooks a bowl of rice on a temporary stove. If the situation in Colombia does not improve, fix Chile as your next destination.
AFP agency
PB
Source: Clarin
