Riviera Maya, Q.R. — In September, the 2,400 hectares outside Playa del Carmen used by Vulcan Materials will be declared a protected natural area. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says he will not finish his presidential term without protecting that area.
During his Wednesday morning press conference, López Obrador explained that “the legal process has already begun so that before the government concludes (this area) will be declared a protected natural area.
“Consultations were carried out, everything that the law says. I hope by the beginning of September,” he said providing a timeline for the project.
In July of 2023, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he intended to declare Sac-Tun, the mining land used by U.S. company Vulcan Materials, a natural protected jungle area.
In May of 2022, the area, which lies just south of Playa del Carmen, was shut down by the Government of Mexico for what AMLO called “ecocide”. Open-pit mines, dynamite explosions, underground water contamination and over extraction of limestone and other materials were underlying reasons for the closure.
Both sides have been in litigation since. After the federal government ordered the closure of the mine, they offered to buy the land based on an appraisal. The company rejected the purchase-sale proposal and filed an international lawsuit demanding compensation.