What Are Slums Called in Chile? Campamentos & Poblaciones Callampas

Chile uses two main terms for informal settlements:

• Campamentos – Newer, often spontaneous occupations; makeshift housing (mediaguas); minimal services. Highly visible in urban peripheries.
• Poblaciones Callampas – "Mushroom settlements" (callampa = mushroom); older, more consolidated, some infrastructure, but still irregular tenure and substandard housing.

Scale

TECHO‑Chile estimates ~1,000 campamentos housing ~80,000 families (2023). Government programs (Minvu) aim to regularize and upgrade.

Social Implications

Both terms carry stigma. Residents organize via juntas de vecinos to demand water, electricity, paving, and legal title.