The popular Plaza Central building, home to over 200 businesses including shops, restaurants and cinemas, was closed and occupied by the police in connection with a dispute between the owner of the property and the company that constructed the building, who is claiming the rights to the car park. The administrator of Plaza Central, Porfirio Rodriguez, told the Listin Diario newspaper that the area in question forms part of the Plaza and is not the property of the construction company owned by Julio Morales. Mr. Morales arrived at Plaza Central on Wednesday, 20 March at 8 am accompanied by about 20 police officers and the construction company’s lawyers. The officers occupied the car park and the building, causing the closing of all the establishments inside. Mr. Rodriguez presented legal documents, including a decision made on 31 January by the Quinta Circunscripción del Juzgado de Primera Instancia determining that the car park was collectively owned by the merchants in Plaza Central. On Thursday the 21st, the police officers left and business returned to normal after a meeting between Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Morales and the Chief of Police, Antonio Segundo Imbert Tesson.
The case is still pending in the Land Court, and it appears that the dispute will be set aside until a ruling on the property is given.
29 March – 4 April 1996