The Tower of David: An icon of the beginning of the Venezuelan crisis

The Confinanzas Financial Center or better known as "Tower of David" was one the world tallest slum. The tower was destined to be a little Wall Street in Caracas, however the banking crisis of 1994 left bankrupt the company responsible for its construction and the work remains unfinished.

Its construction begins in 1990, it has 195 meters of height, 45 floors, with heliport and 121.741 square meters of surface. The entire center consists of 6 buildings, Commercial Atrium, Hummy type parking with fourteen levels. Its planning envisaged an urban development consisting of a 190 m high-rise tower, offices, aparthotel and shops.

After the work was abandoned, it was taken by FOGADE, a group which would put the work on auction but without getting any interested from the state or private. After several years the interest in the work is lost.

The abandoned tower was looted, losing several windows, iron handrails, among other valuable things. Then in 2007 it was completely invaded by people in precarious condition. This is where the "rancho vertical" begins, at the beginning the invaders did not have any basic service, until a time after they managed to get one of them that is of vital importance, the water, which only reached the 22nd floor, then They managed to count on the other services.

Due to the looting and dismantling of the building by the population and the residents themselves, the building lacks elevators and to climb a few floors you needed motorcycles or any car that went up through the parking area but only up to the 10th floor.

During the following years it came to house more than 1000 families, becoming a second city worthy of any post-apocalyptic story (for example in the film Elysium, where we can appreciate the occupation of large buildings as improvised houses).

Crime abounded in the tower, in certain hours it became an extremely dangerous place to transit, occurring cases of rape, robbery, among others.

In 2015 the eviction of the structure by the government began, delivering houses to the families that lived in the tower. The government proposed plans to use the tower, but it ended up being another forgotten project.

The Tower of David is the living image of the beginning of the Venezuelan decadence on the part of a terrible administration, that of not having left would be today an international icon of the Venezuelan financial system, but it was turned into a symbol of the urban decay.

However, residents could enjoy incredible views of the city of Caracas, despite everything in poverty you can find some beauty.

Image source
Spanish post