Suspension (Suspensión)

THE PATH THAT CONNECTED THE VAST AMAZONIAN JUNGLE

TO THE REST OF THE COUNTRY WAS THE MOST UNUSUAL

AND TERRIBLE THING THAT CAN BE IMAGINED.

IT WAS LIKE IF AN EVIL SPIRIT HAD FUN

SPREADING PRECIPICES AND CANYONS

TO PREVENT ACCESS TO THAT SOLITARY NATURE.

FRIAR CANET DEL MAR CAPUCHIN MISSIONARY (1924)

SUSPENSION

It looks there are three!

This is a very sad news.

A river of mud near Murallas, on the road that connects Pasto to Mocoa,

carried 8 vehicles, 2 buses, several jeeps and an ambulance.

So far, 20 bodies have been found.

It is assumed that about 70 people were circulating on the road.

I was working.

- Are you a driver? - Yes, sir.

- Do you always work on this road? - Yes, all the time.

Why they call it the "Springboard of Death"?

Well, because this road is very dangerous.

And it is so bad in some places that you are always risking your life.

Would you like to ask something to the government?

We would like the government to hear us

and build the Mocoa-San Francisco road,

because this is a disaster.

- A graveyard? - Yes, sir.

Is it difficult to work with this zip line?

Yes, but we are providing a service to the community.

Aren't people afraid?

Yes, very afraid. But it is the only way to cross the landslide.

Are you scared, boy?

Yes!

And you? Are you afraid?

No, sir.

Well, there goes the zip line!

Keep your head down.

Finally, the road was opened

on July 30, 1991.

Since then, we've constantly monitoring

any crack that may appear

and that can indicate new landslides.

This is the beginning of the rural section

of the road that goes to Putumayo.

To be more exact, the Pasto-Mocoa section.

This stretch constantly lives in construction,

made by contractors from the National Roads Institute.

A rural taxi in full activity.

Subhuman conditions for passengers.

Accident on the stretch between kilometers 46 and 47,

just before La Palanca. It wasn't serious.

The road to Mocoa...

The terrain is very steep.

It was built more than 30 years ago and has never undergone maintenance.

is very narrow

and there is a rock formation on the left.

Stretch Buenos Aires.

Face to face with a truck.

Is it a two-way road?

I ask... The stretch of Los Monos...

Road to Mocoa...

A slide of stones,

which descended from the mountainside.

A steep slope with large amounts of biomass

in the upper area...

Once again, we see the roadbed,

and a part of the lower slope...

showing signs of a precipice.

Unfortunately, clouds prevent a more detailed view.

Traffic conditions on this

stretch of climb to El Mirador...

Jeep reversing.

We are about...

30, 40 meters from the top.

We are at the top of the mountain.

Stop the car, please!

The Amazonian plains,

that resemble the sea.

Zones with high risk of landslides.

Observe the abyss below.

The contractor's jeep...

and the road,

seen in the direction of Mocoa,

capital of the Department of Putumayo.

How are we, Guillermo?

It is one o'clock in the afternoon.

We are 32 km from...

San Francisco.

You got what you wanted, didn't you?

After all, we must thank the Lord God.

In 1985,

I wanted to be a road engineer.

I started to get involved with politics...

hoping the Ministry of Public Works to hire me

for a position with jurisdiction and control.

Because?

So that I could speak directly

about southern Colombia,

and, in particular, on the Pasto-Mocoa road.

Capuchins built the route for horses

in two years,

employing an average of 1,400 workers per day.

In two years!

While this road, a completely different route...

lasted for approximately 10 years...

before a truck could travel over it.

If we analyze the characteristics of the road geometry,

which includes 18 turns per kilometer,

it becomes even more obvious

that the only possible conclusion

is that this work was crazy.

It was an emotional and political madness.

What happened to Mocoa?

And with Putumayo?

This dirt road was the only communication between Pasto

and the national road system.

It was the umbilical cord.

What would have been the best route for the road?

Without a doubt,

the horse trail left by Capuchins,

which is what is being built today.

The San Francisco-Mocoa road.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE SAN FRANCISCO- MOCOA ROAD IS IN PROGRESS!

US$ 116,000.

Are we there?

Yesterday, I told him to have coffee, but he ran.

Really?

Yesterday, he was scared.

He made a fool of himself so he could wake up late.

He came here and pretended he was scared not to get scolded.

That's what you think, asshole.

Am I an asshole?

Did you hear what he said?

It will get wet there.

Not in this place. Put next to the shovel.

It's good that this stone is not hard.

Let's put this a little further here.

We will use to fill here.

Having coffee again?

...the actual number of deaths is not known,

but we managed to find the bodies of 51 people.

- The bodies... - Yes, the bodies.

All dismembered...

The whole situation was horrible.

It was raining a lot,

and, as we cleared the place,

the slide started to descend again and covered us.

We are talking about the natural disaster,

the massacre caused by the terrible landslide of 1991,

26 years ago!

You said that even before that,

the San Francisco-Mocoa road was already under discussion.

- Then we wasted 26 years, sir? - Much more than that.

Many other disasters have occurred as a result

of this neglect, this abandonment by the state.

The "Springboard of Death"

it's the most dangerous road in the world. That's true?

That's what they say.

This is not a road. Not at all. It is a path.

It has a track for both directions.

And the tragedies do not stop.

Buses fall, jeeps fall...

The tragedy will never end

until the San Francisco-Mocoa road is built.

Well, the FARC no longer exists,

paramilitary groups no longer exist,

but Putumayo continues to suffer from an even worse aggressor,

which is the "Springboard of Death".

Who is responsible for these deaths?

Exactly. We asked truck drivers...

what they would consider fair compensation

for the victims of this road.

They said: "Finish the San Francisco-Mocoa road!"

That would be fair compensation for the people of Putumayo and Nariño!

- Have a nice day. - Goodbye.

When they started talking about this road,

we were very happy.