Five were reported on Nov. 13 alone, a day with little rain. The squatters adopt hopeful names such as The Future, Eden, Canaan and Triumph and often fly Honduran flags to generate public sympathy for their attempts to win legal recognition plus water and electricity. But trees are quickly chopped down for firewood, hastening the soil's erosion. Latrines are dug and water, bought from tanker trucks at 15 cents per five-gallon jug, is dumped into the ground, raising the chances of mudslides. At least five died.
Some landowners hire thugs to evict the squatters.
Others who go to court find that the archaic judicial systems often take three years to rule, and that even if they win, police have little taste for evicting poor people. But most landlords, especially the government in the case of public lands, opt to negotiate compensation deals with squatters' committees known as patronatos. Politicians nevertheless court the patronatos at election time, promising to legalize the colonies and provide water and electricity hookups if they deliver the squatters' votes. But legalization can turn more dangerous, for both the squatters and the colonies legally established by owners of steep lands who sell house-sized lots and construction materials and offer cheap financing. Regular water supplies attract more families, heavier homes made of cement block instead of lumber, and means more water going into the ground.