An interesting thing happened on my way home from the store about 8:30pm last night. I got a call telling me that the road into Akumal and Akumal pueblo was blocked and the people were demonstrating. I had already run into our friend Rodrigo at the gas station so he and I drove on to the Akumal exit.


Manuela is the one who had called me and she and her husband walked down to meet me to make sure I was fine. It seemed fine, once they saw that Rod was with me they said they were going home and to walk over to their house if I needed to. Rod immediately went off to talk to the federal police who were standing in a group along the side. As I stood there several locals came up and talked to me, some I knew slightly and some not at all. They all seemed to want me to know what the real problem was and to make sure I was fine.

I was told they had closed the roads because the new Presidente of the new municipality had 'appointed' a delegado for Akumal and they wanted an election. They were also mad about several things having to do with this new municipality and the presidente had said he would come and talk to them at 7pm and he didn't show. Blocking the road is an old and common way of getting your point across and I was surprised they left the main highway open, perhaps that was implied as a next step. I agree with them that they deserve representation of their choosing and I was happy just standing around listening to the loudspeaker.

Eventually - I'm a little slow - I started understanding the loudspeaker better and realized that among the demands were that the beaches should be open for their children, that they should have the snorkle equipment to use them and be taught to swim, that the gringos, italianos y chilangos have taken over their beaches and their land and they want it back.

Well., now I understood why I had an almost constant companion standing with me and why I got friendly smiles and almost apologetic looks from others. I was touched and I agree that these are all truths, it was the kindness of strangers or almost strangers that really got me. Several of the people who came up said they recognized me and knew I lived here and they just stood with me. I didn't really understand why at first, I was a little confused by it. Once I understood more of the rhetoric I knew they were caring for me in a very special way.

Eventually, it was announced that the Presidente was in Cheymuyil (just down the highway) and would be there in 5 minutes. There were a lot of police there, the chief of the Tulum police was pointed out to me, and there were federal police as well. Some of them had riot gear, shields and batons. The presidente arrived and the loudspeaker asked for everyone to come and listen to what he had to say, they emphasized that they should listen with respect and silence. When they came from the other side of the highway, cars were able to go through so I got mine and went home. It was about 10:30 by then.

Today when Manuela came I thanked her and her husband for walking down the hill to be there for me and told her that I finally realized why they had done that. She smiled and said that most of the people in Akumal were good people but that there have been some bad decisions made by the new municipality and by people in power in Akumal. She said that the main issue is that the Presidente of the new municipality in Tulum had appointed a delegado for Akumal and they did not like him. They wanted an election and they wanted to choose their own delegate. Apparently, the old delegado had been opposed to Akumal being taken by the new municipality and argued to stay with Playa in Solidaridad. So, when they took Akumal anyway, he was out. The second issue is that when the people from the pueblo try to go to the beach here the guards stop them and want $80 pesos per family. I had no idea this was happening. It is just wrong, it is illegal as well. By law, all the beaches in Mexico belong to the public and access is supposed to remain open.

Apparently this is happening over by the entrance to Akumal and it is believed that the guards there are paid by CEA - Centro Ecológico Akumal and by the company that owns the Lol-Ha bar and restaurants. I really have no idea who pays them or when this all started but she said it is a new issue. I'm surprised if CEA is involved in this as they have a lot of programs for the local kids to get them involved with and to teach them about the sea and the reefs. I'm sure there is another side but it would seem that this is what is believed to be true. Clearly there are a lot of angry people and it is not just here in Akumal, she said the same protest is happening in Cheymuyil and in the 'pueblos Maya' in the interior. It is true that there are fewer and fewer beaches along this coast that are open and don't have blocked roads or guards on the roads leading to them.

It's an ugly situation and it isn't a new one, these complaints have been made about the coast from Cancun to Tulum for a long time and they are valid complaints. Whether anything will be done about it this time, I don't know. I would hope that it isn't pushed aside again and left until there is an even larger resentment.

I found one limited article in the Cancun paper here. I heard that Azteca TV was there and there were some reporters with cameras and laptops present, let's hope it isn't covered up.