Bajos De Mena Explained: Why This Santiago Area Matters
CHILE · EXPLAINER
Key Facts
- —The country Chile is a South American copper exporter, and Puente Alto, on the south-eastern edge of Greater Santiago, was its most populous commune at the 2017 census.
- —Why it matters This social-housing district is one of the best known in Chile, and demolition and rebuilding there have gone on for years.
- —Why now A crowd damaged the district’s public clinic on 15 and 16 October, which put the area and its history back in the national debate.
- —What happened The blocks went up in the 1980s and 1990s, leaks and overcrowding followed, and the state has been demolishing blocks there since the 2000s.
- —The numbers About 6,000 people lived in 1,300 apartments across 61 blocks in two of its villages, and 495 replacement homes were planned there in 2020.
- —What it means for you For US readers, this is a story about housing policy and policing in Greater Santiago, not a risk to the main business or tourist areas.
- —Still open How many blocks remain, who lives in the occupied El Volcán 2 apartments, and when the next eviction happens.
- —Power Index Chile ranks 3rd of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 63.6 points (October 2026 edition).
Bajos de Mena is a district of Puente Alto, on the south-eastern edge of Greater Santiago, where the state built large blocks of social housing. It returned to the headlines this week after a crowd damaged its public clinic, as covered in Mob Attack Closes Puente Alto Cesfam 16 Oct.
For US readers, it is a case study in how a mass-housing policy can shape safety, services and local politics for decades. It is a residential district, not a business or tourist zone.
Where the District Sits and Who Lives There
Puente Alto had 568,106 residents at the 2017 census, making it Chile’s most populous commune, according to the census figures carried by 24 Horas. The district is one sector inside it, and CEDEUS cites 78,425 residents there from the same census.
CEDEUS is the Centre for Sustainable Urban Development, a university research group that has studied the district. It says the area’s origins go back to the 1960s and that it consolidated in the 1990s, when a 2010 study it cites called it Chile’s biggest ghetto.
How Bajos De Mena History Began With Mass Housing
Housing Minister Cristián Monckeberg said in 2018 that the district’s homes were built in the 1980s and 1990s as part of a mass public policy. He called that policy poorly conceived and said the government was correcting it.
Many of the apartments were small, about 39 square metres in the Francisco Coloane and Cerro Morado villages, according to the ministry. It describes about 6,000 people living in 1,300 apartments across 61 blocks in that project area, with overcrowding and shared households.
Why Leaks Led to Land Occupations
The ministry says the Marta Brunet village was built by the Copeva company and showed serious defects after the 1997 rains, a year after it opened. The Clinic reported in 2009 that the nearby Villa El Volcán 2, also built by Copeva, was meant to house about 1,700 families in apartments of roughly 40 square metres.
After the leaks, some original owners left, and people without housing took over the abandoned apartments, The Clinic said. By 2009 more than 900 of those apartments had already been demolished.
El Volcán 2 is also the name attached to the eviction that preceded this week’s protest, according to CNN Chile. No outlet reviewed says how today’s occupants relate to those of 2009.
Demolition and Regeneration Programmes
In 2013 Serviu, the state housing agency, began relocating families under the Segunda Oportunidad programme and demolishing emptied blocks. Cooperativa reported that a block cleared in Francisco Coloane was knocked down to prevent future land takeovers and crime.
CEDEUS notes that the early demolitions had no planned use for the cleared land, which left vacant lots beside partly occupied buildings. Some residents also said they felt pressured to leave, which the mayor at the time, Germán Codina, denied.
In 2018 the ministry began demolishing the last two blocks of Francisco Coloane and Cerro Morado to make room for homes for more than 500 families. By December 2020 the first 41 families had moved into 61-square-metre replacements, out of 495 planned.
In February 2023 the ministry handed over 280 homes in the Cordilleras de doña Marta complex for families from the Marta Brunet village. It said two more complexes were then under construction nearby.
The ministry also said in 2020 that it was building a shared civic centre for the Volcán II and III sectors, with a health centre and banking services. It added that a security post with Carabineros and firefighters was already operating there.
Crime, Policing and the Clinic
In late September 2024 gunmen fired more than 150 rounds at a wake in the district, and a 17-year-old died, BioBioChile reported. The attackers also threatened staff at the same Cesfam Raúl Silva Henríquez, which then offered only emergency care.
The Metropolitan presidential delegation announced a fixed police post at the clinic for at least 30 days, and Codina, then mayor, criticised the downgrading of the 66th police station. Mayor Matías Toledo says that post was withdrawn about three months before this week’s attack, and on 16 October the government said Carabineros would restore it, 24 Horas reported.
BioBioChile also reported a public clash on 5 August 2026 between Toledo and presidential delegate Codina over police numbers. For the national context, see Chile Security and Crime Explained 2026.
What It Means for You
Visitors to Santiago will find the main sights, hotels and business districts elsewhere, as our Santiago city page and our guide What to Do in Santiago in October 2026: Foro de las Artes, Festival Bamba and Iron Maiden show. Anyone living near the area should follow local advice around eviction dates.
For US investors and analysts, the district shows how housing, policing and municipal-national relations interact, a theme covered in Chile History Explained, From Origins to 2026 and Who Dominates Chile, Elites and Regions Explained. It is one commune, and no source reviewed ties it to wider economic risk.
What Is Not Known
No single official population figure for the district was found, and counts vary with the boundary drawn. The total number of blocks still standing and the final cost of the regeneration programme are also not stated in the sources reviewed.
It is not established whether today’s occupants of El Volcán 2 are linked to the families who moved in after 1997, and outlets name the building differently. Nobody has been named or charged over the clinic attack, and the government’s announced complaint and review of the police response had produced no findings by Friday evening.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bajos de Mena?
It is a district of Puente Alto, in Greater Santiago, built around large social-housing blocks. CEDEUS cites 78,425 residents from the 2017 census, though counts vary with the boundary used.
Who built the housing in the district?
The housing minister said in 2018 that it was built in the 1980s and 1990s under a mass public policy, and firms such as Copeva built blocks. The ministry says one Copeva village showed serious defects after the 1997 rains.
Why are there land occupations in the area?
The Clinic reported that after leaks and departures, people without housing took over abandoned apartments in Villa El Volcán 2. This week’s eviction notice concerns the El Volcán 2 occupation, CNN Chile said.
What is being done to regenerate the district?
Serviu and the housing ministry have demolished blocks for years and built replacement homes, such as 280 in the Cordilleras de doña Marta complex. More complexes were under construction in 2023, and the full programme is not finished.
Is the district a place visitors go?
It is a residential district, not a tourist destination, and the main visitor areas of Santiago lie elsewhere. The sources reviewed describe local public-order problems, so travellers should follow local advice.
Sources: Housing Ministry (Minvu), 22 June 2018; Housing Ministry (Minvu), 19 December 2020; Housing Ministry (Minvu), 3 February 2023; CEDEUS, April 2020; 24 Horas, 2017 census; Cooperativa, 16 May 2013; The Clinic, 21 December 2009; BioBioChile, 26 September 2024; BioBioChile, 5 August 2026; 24 Horas, 16 October 2026; La Tercera, 16 October 2026; CNN Chile, 16 October 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error
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