In this second installment, material shared by archaeologist Erick López, we will analyze some legal aspects regarding this property, but also applicable to other heritage sites on the peninsula. We will soon investigate with local authorities the reasons for the apparent "apathy" on this issue.
The Constitution of Ecuador, Art. 379 (numeral 2), declares as part of the Cultural Heritage “tangible and intangible relevant to the memory and identity of individuals and groups, and subject to safeguarding by the State" to: "The buildings… (continued)….identity referents for the peoples either that have historical, artistic, archaeological, ethnographic or paleontological value”, among others. Adding further that “The cultural heritage assets of the State shall be inalienable, non-seizable and imprescriptible. The State shall have the right of priority in the acquisition of cultural heritage assets and shall guarantee their protection. Any damage shall be punished in accordance with the law.”.
Considering this, in 2007 the Patrimonial Emergency Decree was declared; between the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, both the archaeological site and the building were registered in the inventory of heritage assets of the province of Santa Elena.
The fact that the building-basement complex is declared and protected by the Law and the current Political Constitution makes it necessary, although desirable and advisable, for there to be some other provision (ordinance, declaration, decree, etc.) that declares it cultural heritage of La Libertad.
This is why the rumours and incidents of the last 5 years regarding the ownership, property and destination of the property make it urgent for the relevant local and national authorities to intervene quickly in order to guarantee the conservation, restoration, function, use and enhancement of the building and subsoil. The inheritance problems have been public, as well as the attempts to evict the current residents of the property, by people claiming rights to it. It is also known that part of the land is municipal, and that a certain chain of stores is interested in buying it, thus affecting the integrity of these heritage assets, the historical architectural and the ancestral archaeological.
For this reason, it should be noted, as a warning, that the Regulations of the Cultural Heritage Law, in its Art. 78, determine a sanction that ranges from fines to dismissal of the public, state or sectional official, who attempts or contributes by omission to the destruction of a heritage asset. Art. 233 of the Constitution determines the administrative, civil and criminal liability of public servants in the exercise of their functions, or for their omissions.
The Constitution, Art. 264, num. 8 indicates as one of the powers of the municipalities that of “Preserve, maintain and disseminate the architectural, cultural and natural heritage of the canton and build public spaces for these purposes”, even the Special Law on State Decentralization and Social Participation (Law No. 27), in Art. 9, literal d (Chapter II, OF TRANSFERS AND STRENGTHENING OF THE AUTONOMOUS SECTIONAL REGIME), indicates the responsibility of the municipal entity for “Assist in the preservation and conservation of cultural and natural heritage assets in coordination with the competent bodies and in accordance with the corresponding policies and in accordance with the Cultural Heritage Law.”
In this context, the local municipality must make a decision on the matter and apply the relevant constitutional, legal and regulatory norm. To this end, a group of self-convened citizens, on Monday, July 26, 2010, at 6:00 p.m., at the reference house, formed a citizen oversight committee on heritage issues, to demand and monitor the correct compliance with the laws that determine the conservation, research and protection of the elements constitutionally declared as assets of the Cultural Heritage of the Nation, present in the territory of the peninsula and province of Santa Elena.
Considering especially the lack of interest in the conservation and enhancement of the heritage and cultural assets of our nation, region and population, evidenced in the actions and omissions of the vast majority of public and private officials and institutions called upon to preserve them.
The Constitution also determines, in Art. 380, the responsibilities that the State and therefore the sectional governments have with respect to the Heritage, and they are, among others:
1. Ensure, through permanent policies, the identification, protection, defense, conservation, restoration, dissemination and growth of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, historical, artistic, linguistic and archaeological wealth, collective memory and the set of values and manifestations that make up the plurinational, pluricultural and multiethnic identity of Ecuador.
2. Promote the restitution and recovery of stolen, lost or degraded heritage assets, and ensure the legal deposit of printed, audiovisual and electronic content for mass dissemination.
8. Ensure sufficient and timely funding for the implementation of cultural policy.
In fact, the municipalities of La Libertad, Salinas and Santa Elena, since the creation of the province of Santa Elena, have been receiving budget allocations for the Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage.
From this perspective, a special declaration of protection is proposed and required from the State, both for the historic buildings that are still preserved in the La Libertad canton, as well as for the subsoil where there is the presence of ancestral archaeological evidence, both as referential elements of cultural identity and collective social memory, as elements that generate tourist attraction for the benefit of the canton.
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