I sent an email last night to CEA asking for their side of this story. The director, Paul Sánchez-Navarro Russell, responded and also posted a comment on the last blog entry. I'm not sure that comments gets as much traffic so, with his permission, I'm repeating it here.
My thoughts on this are that he is absolutely right about commercial tours coming in here. They come down our bad road in Half Moon Bay to take bus loads to the lagoon at Yal Ku. I think they should pay and I think they should repair the road, that's just my thought on that. However, I wonder how the guards decide who is a tour customer and who is a local. From his comment, it would appear that they are checking people as they cross the open area to the beach and that is far from the parking lot. I can't help but wonder how these guards really see their job, is it to keep locals out or to keep tours out? They could easily be overzealous.
I think at the very least, CEA has a public relations problem. Paul said in another email to me that they are working on that aspect. They realize that if they don't get their views out to the people, others will paint them however they wish.
I read the article that Cancun Canuck posted, it's in Spanish but I can read most of it. Again, similar to what I was told the other night and what the other article stated, the main beef seems to be that the people do not like the delegado appointed by the new presidente and that they want a vote. Today I was told that the Tulum municipio sent people around in Akumal a few weeks ago with a petition, they told them that it was for daily garbage service. Now, that petition and those signatures are appearing as people who signed in favor of the appointee. That is making people mad too.
I also found out that blocking a federal highway is a federal felony and that is probably why they only blocked the access roads to both parts of Akumal. That is why the federal police were there, to watch and see if the highway was impeded. A long time ago, I blogged about a girl who was killed crossing the highway up in Pto Aventuras, her family and others blockaded the highway until temporary speed bumps were installed. Then, pedestrian overpasses were built in Pto Aventuras and here in Akumal. Well, apparently the 3 women who instigated that closure of the highway are still in jail for it! It's been over a year, maybe two. This law does not seem to be enforced in other parts of the Republic but certainly it seems to be here. As I said, it's always been a common way to address grievances with the government that the people felt were not being heard. When you block a river, it flows elsewhere. I wonder if they considered this.
It does seem to me that in this case, the main beef is with the new municipio and the speaker on the truck perhaps had another agenda to push as well. Does that change the reality that more and more beaches along here are walled off? No. It is still a huge underlying resentment and it needs to be addressed. I do hope that CEA will step up in some way and try and make Akumal different than other tourist towns. Time will tell.
HI. I just want to clear up one thing, CEA does not block access to locals to go to the beach and it does not charge them. The guard was placed at the entrance to the beach from the road to stop all COMMERCIAL activity going to the bay. As property owners, CEA may legally do this. Access is guaranteed by law to individuals, not businesses. Too many companies are bringing tours to Akumal bay to snorkel and they are damaging the area, harassing the turtles and do in no way benefit the local economy. Several local actors want to keep the heat going for their own political interests and therefore are making false claims against CEA. Our efforts are to protect the local environment and make sure that Akumalians can enjoy it, without destroying it. CEA does charge for parking and bathrooms because it costs quite a lot of money to keep the area clean and in service (water costs, property taxes are paid, etc.) and if there is no charge, people traditionally trash the place (we have experimented). We are now trying to work with the local people to first inform them well of the matters and second, to involve them in the solutions so that Akumal can remain the incredible place that it is. Thanks for your interest in the area. Paul, CEA director.
My thoughts on this are that he is absolutely right about commercial tours coming in here. They come down our bad road in Half Moon Bay to take bus loads to the lagoon at Yal Ku. I think they should pay and I think they should repair the road, that's just my thought on that. However, I wonder how the guards decide who is a tour customer and who is a local. From his comment, it would appear that they are checking people as they cross the open area to the beach and that is far from the parking lot. I can't help but wonder how these guards really see their job, is it to keep locals out or to keep tours out? They could easily be overzealous.
I think at the very least, CEA has a public relations problem. Paul said in another email to me that they are working on that aspect. They realize that if they don't get their views out to the people, others will paint them however they wish.
I read the article that Cancun Canuck posted, it's in Spanish but I can read most of it. Again, similar to what I was told the other night and what the other article stated, the main beef seems to be that the people do not like the delegado appointed by the new presidente and that they want a vote. Today I was told that the Tulum municipio sent people around in Akumal a few weeks ago with a petition, they told them that it was for daily garbage service. Now, that petition and those signatures are appearing as people who signed in favor of the appointee. That is making people mad too.
I also found out that blocking a federal highway is a federal felony and that is probably why they only blocked the access roads to both parts of Akumal. That is why the federal police were there, to watch and see if the highway was impeded. A long time ago, I blogged about a girl who was killed crossing the highway up in Pto Aventuras, her family and others blockaded the highway until temporary speed bumps were installed. Then, pedestrian overpasses were built in Pto Aventuras and here in Akumal. Well, apparently the 3 women who instigated that closure of the highway are still in jail for it! It's been over a year, maybe two. This law does not seem to be enforced in other parts of the Republic but certainly it seems to be here. As I said, it's always been a common way to address grievances with the government that the people felt were not being heard. When you block a river, it flows elsewhere. I wonder if they considered this.
It does seem to me that in this case, the main beef is with the new municipio and the speaker on the truck perhaps had another agenda to push as well. Does that change the reality that more and more beaches along here are walled off? No. It is still a huge underlying resentment and it needs to be addressed. I do hope that CEA will step up in some way and try and make Akumal different than other tourist towns. Time will tell.
posted by Jonna at 9:20 PM
1 Comments:
Very good reporting but I would ask you to please not get involved any further in this fray. You could be deported in an instant for critizing anything the Mexican government does. Truly. (although I doubt that it would happen)
As for the petition, don't sign anything you have not read. I know, I know. That sentence opens a whole can of worms regarding education, blah, blah, blah. But truly, don't bitch about the horse getting out if you are the one that left the barn door open.
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