A visit by a person with disability revealed that the new building of the Legislative Assembly has obstacles. According to a report signed by the human rights activist, Nicole Mesén Sojo, the building presents segregation in access routes and in the public bar; awkward distances to reach team in plenary, commissions and offices, among other obstacles.
Mesén ensures that the building has a space that “seems to have been designed only for people with physical disabilities, that is, only a wheelchair.” It is separated from some stands that are for the general public.
“Why can’t we be people with and without disabilities together? They say it is for security reasons, because people get violent, but there are also people with disabilities who get violent. That is no excuse,” said Mesén in an interview.
The activist points out that universal design was not integrated, that is, an integration of access and without barriers for those who visit the facilities.
The Director of General Services of the Legislative Assembly, Marlon Velázquez pointed out that “we are very close to universal design.” Velázquez says that a ramp can be built that connects the two sections of the public, so there is no segregation.
“That is an interpretation, why are we discriminating if she is directly watching the plenary?” Said the official in an interview.
“Universal access is an optional subject, yet we set out to comply with universal access. That was always the goal. We were the ones who asked the Conapdis (National Council of People with Disabilities) to make the assessment on the site ”, he said.
Nicole Mesén explained that the administration of the Legislative Assembly organized two visits to evaluate the compliance of the building for people with disabilities. However, the observations came when the construction of the building was well advanced. The second visit occurred in the first week of October, when the building was enabled for normal use.
“When we were invited to the first session, last year, the building was already 70% built. It was impossible that all the observations that we made could be corrected, because it was almost finished, “said Mesén.
For his part, the director of General Services, affirmed that there are conditions to receive people with disabilities and that the case of Nicole Mesén, who has a physical disability and is short, “is outside the range of the norm.”
“We intend to put an option for that type of heights, to try that people have the possibility of accessing everything,” said Velázquez.
The observations made by the activist are in addition to other complaints from the building this week. Since Wednesday, the square on the north side of the building has broken tiles because a small cargo vehicle entered and broke them.
