The Ministry of Government had officially launched the Freedom Plan, a national initiative that allowed persons deprived of their liberty to commute their sentences through community work as part of a process of resocialization and restorative justice.

One of the plans of this second stage focuses on the Casco Antiguo of the city, where 80 have been deprived of liberty, under the co-ordination of the architect Amber Zambrano, director of the office of the Casco Antiguo, will conduct the cleanup, removal and conditioning of the old building of the INAC, also known as the Palace of Justice that will be put to value as a cultural space accessible to all citizens.

Also, work will be undertaken at the Plaza de France and at the Building of the Orbrio Mansion, where the office of the Casco Antiguo and street clearance jobs are situated.
The jobs also include the disposal and transfer of obsolete furniture, profound cleaning of structures, intervention of green areas, landscape and masonry rescue,

"It's about recovering spaces with history, bringing our monuments back to life and at the same time giving a second opportunity to those who wish to rebuild their lives through decent work," Zambrano said.

Training sessions will be included as part of the process to teach participants how to correctly intervene with historic monuments.

José Ureta, deprived of his liberty, expressed at his official event: "On behalf of my partners and with his heart full of gratitude, I mean that this day is very special for us.

We have found that we are capable of building and contributing. The Freedom Plan doesn't only mean work, it represents dignity and faith, and we can get up after we have fallen. "

For his part, Elsi Barrios, a participant of the program, added: "That project has transformed my life. I started with the team that worked at the old Palace of Justice. I never thought that I had skills that I can currently develop. I'm excited to be part of a project that makes us feel useful and capable."

Director Zambrano noted that at an initial stage of this project, the Ministry of Culture through the office of the Casco Antiguo and jointly with the Freedom Plan team, did work at the Convent of Santo Domingo (Arco Chato).

A comprehensive assessment of the monumental set was undertaken as part of this intervention, enabling actions to be performed in several areas, including: painting, bone consolidation, macroflora cleanliness, ramp adequacy, improvements in light, landscape jobs, treatment of walls affected by moisture and sanding of the whole wood structure to preserve the original.

At a second stage, we look forward to continuing to work at the Chat Arco, for the benefit of our nation's heritage, stated Arq. Zambrano.