Independencia District, Lima

In the Viceroyalty and early years of the republic, it was part of the great territory of Carabayllo.

Until the decade of the 1950s, the strong migration produced from the interior of the country brought waves of families to the capital looking for a better future in the capital.

In the mid of this context, and given the need of these migrant families to acquire their own land, in 1959 the Associations of Parents of Pro-housing Families "Tahuantinsuyo" and "Pampa de Cueva - Independencia" were founded.

On the morning of November 17, 1960, some families, entered the deserts along kilometers 5 and 6 of Túpac Amaru Avenue, the old road to Canta, in a very organized manner.

Faced with the repression, the families withdrew until they reached kilometer four, next to the railway, where they resisted for 37 days in the face of inclement weather, lack of services, medicine and food. It was in this period that the death of some children on the railway tracks occurred. Tribute was paid to this sacrifice by naming one of the main streets of the district after "Los Niños Martires".

In the following years, the area of "Pampa de Repartición" located at kilometer six and a half, in the district of Comas, was urbanized, establishing the Tahuantinsuyo Urbanization; then the land of "Pampa El Ermitaño" in Rímac District was occupied, located at kilometer four, other extensions of land would later be populated, integrating the human settlements of the peripheries. And finally the Industrial zone in San Martín de Porres was occupied.

After the complaints of the neighbors, the Congress decided to create a new district.

Officially created district on March 16, 1964. For Law 14965. The new district is segregated from San Martín de Porres, Comas and Rímac Districts.

The district of Independencia is generally enabled by popular families of medium, medium-low and low socioeconomic status.

However, it is considered the new economic pole of Lima, due to the large number of businesses, malls and ventures that occur in the area.

The district has the busiest shopping centers in the city:

• Metropolitano (El Milagro, Tomás Valle, Los Jazmines, Independencia, Pacífico, Izaguirre and Naranjal Station)
• 101 Bus (Corredor Amarillo)

The district has a total land area of 14.56 km². Its administrative center is located 130 meters above sea level.

According to a 2002 estimate by the INEI, Independencia has 206,843 inhabitants and a population density of 14,206.3 persons/km². In 1999, there were 36,999 households in the district.

• Administrative divisions of Peru
• Cono Norte

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Independencia District.

• (in Spanish) Official district's web site
• (in Spanish) Historical Graphic