REAL PLAZA: MORE THAN A ROOF COLLAPSED—JUSTICE CRUMBLED

In Peru, Impunity is the Only Structure That Never Collapses

The roof of Real Plaza in Trujillo collapsed, leaving eight dead and dozens injured. Investigations are progressing at a snail’s pace, and as always, those responsible are likely preparing their favorite excuse: "It was an unfortunate incident, but there are no culprits."

📢 As Nicolás Maquiavelo once said: "He who deceives will always find someone willing to be deceived." And in Peru, large corporations have found judges, authorities, and even the public... because we keep falling for the same game, time and again.

But this time, we cannot allow the Real Plaza case to become just another forgotten page in the long history of structural corruption.

If you're reading this, ask yourself: How much longer will we normalize ceilings literally collapsing on us?

Criminal Responsibility: Who Will Be Held Accountable?

According to criminal lawyer Leonardo Latinez, the collapse of Real Plaza could constitute serious crimes such as:

✔️ Involuntary manslaughter,
✔️ Serious injuries, and
✔️ Public endangerment (for causing harm to the community).

But here’s the legal loophole in the system:

• Companies cannot be held criminally responsible in Peru.

• Only individuals can be sanctioned, meaning Real Plaza, as a corporate entity, would walk away unscathed.

• The "strictest" penalty would be a fine and, in rare cases, a temporary closure.

In other words, if you steal bread from a store, you could go to jail; but if a company constructs a faulty mall, ignores warnings, and eight people die, they get a fine and continue operating as if nothing happened.

Does that sound fair to you?

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If this sounds familiar, it’s because this already happened with Repsol in 2022:

🛢️Oil spill.
🌎 Irreversible environmental damage.
💰 Companies promising fair compensation.
☠️ End result: Polluted beaches, dead marine life, and victims still waiting for justice.

What did we learn from that? Absolutely nothing. If a multinational oil company got away with it, what do you think will happen with a shopping mall?

The strategy is the same:

1️⃣ Drag out legal processes until people forget the scandal.
2️⃣ Negotiate minimal compensation under the excuse that it was “the best they could do.”
3️⃣ Distract the public with a grand reopening, balloons, and big discounts.

And that’s how they keep us quiet—not with justice, but with 2-for-1 happy hours, Taco Tuesdays, and Black Friday blowouts.

Pyramid of Corruption: When Cutting Costs on Cement Costs Lives

The OUKE podcast revealed even more outrageous details from Hildebrandt en sus trece’s latest report:

• Rusty structures, fragile beams, and tiny pillars. Real Plaza was basically a giant Jenga tower where the prize was “not getting buried alive.”

• Inspectors were prevented from checking the roof. “Come back in seven days with the right permit”—a classic excuse.

• An inspector lost his license in July 2024, but another one miraculously approved everything just a few months later.

This is not an "architectural flaw." This is a chain of corruption, where everyone gets their cut until the building collapses. If you build your own house, the city would shut it down in a second. But if you're a big company, all you need is the “right” engineer to sign off on anything.

You know what’s stronger than Real Plaza’s cement? The money under the table.

The Peruvian justice system: Slower than the DMV on a Monday morning

The Habla Good podcast made it clear: big corporations have all the resources to crush affected victims.

1️⃣ If you want to sue, they offer you a miserable settlement.
2️⃣ If you refuse, they drag you to court.
3️⃣ The process can last over a decade—and guess who controls the judges? The National Board of Justice, dominated by Congress.
4️⃣ If a judge rules in your favor, they can be removed.
5️⃣ In the end, you either get tired and accept less money or keep fighting until the ink runs dry on the legal paperwork.

Can you imagine fighting for ten years only to get half of what they originally offered you? This isn’t justice; it’s fraud with an official stamp. And yet we still ask, why do these cases always disappear?

If the Roof Doesn’t Kill You, the System Will

On his show Last Week Tonight, John Oliver dissected how the U.S. justice system is a labyrinth designed to crush the weak and protect the powerful. In his episode "Wrongful Convictions", he exposed how judicial errors condemn innocent people while real criminals walk free. Sound familiar? That’s exactly what we’re seeing with the Real Plaza case in Peru.

The Peruvian justice system follows a predictable script:

• Authorities "investigate to the fullest extent" (which leads nowhere).

• The guilty parties are identified... but mysteriously remain untouchable.

• The victims are the only ones who truly pay the consequences.

In the U.S., you can spend decades in prison without evidence. In Peru, you can build a mall with rusted beams, kill people, and only face a small fine. Justice isn’t just blind—in Peru, it’s also deaf, mute, and selectively forgetful.

Watch the full episode of Last Week Tonight and tell me: are we really that different?

The Responsibility Is Ours: If We Let Them Forget, They Will Repeat It

Corruption in Peru operates like an underground club: it gets shut down one day, and the next, it reopens under a different name. If the Real Plaza case is forgotten, the next roof that collapses might be the one above you.

What Can We Do?

✔️ Keep the conversation alive in the media. Share, comment, and make sure the discussion stays relevant.
✔️ Demand legislative changes. Companies must be held legally accountable—not just scapegoats.
✔️ Refuse to normalize corruption. This is NOT “just another accident.” It’s proof that the cycle of impunity continues.

What Do You Think? Will we keep letting corruption literally crash down on us? Leave your comment and share this article. If something has to collapse, let it be impunity, not the roofs of shopping malls.