Ciudades de lucro sin ciudadanos. Estigma territorial como detonante de una gentrificación turística. El caso del centro histórico del Callao, Perú

Abstract

The following article’s objective is to analyze how territorial stigmatization allowed a gentrification process around the city. Also, starting a discussion and give visibility to gentrification in Peru, since there is no recent bibliographic material that registers its peculiarities. For which, through qualitative techniques (semi-structured interviews, direct observation, official documentation review), we examine the displacement and asymmetries of space produced by a private project (Monumental Callao) inside the constitutional province of Callao (Peru), especially its historic center, also known as Barrio Castilla. We study how strategies to destigmatize the area to attract a public with a higher income and expenditure, have institutionalized the exclusion of its original residents. In the context of a city in which the pursuit for the common benefit seems like an absent matter and alien to the hegemonic discourse, the findings show that these strategies have resulted in the expulsion and exclusion of its residents, thus prioritizing consumers and customers instead of citizens with rights. Results show that such strategies have prompted displacement and exclusion of its residents. Not to mention, the project criminalizes social practices, such as street vending around the area, and limits residents from using their neighborhood’s public space. On the other hand, new consumer habits segregate and incite feelings of exclusion, thereby making current issues, such as poverty and violence, invisible.