Cancun, Q.R. — A seventh district judge has granted the definitive suspension against the Grupo Posadas hotel megaproject next to the Xcacel-Xcacelito Sea Turtle Sanctuary in Chemuyil.
On Monday, Judge Darío Alejandro Villa Arnaiz made his ruling against the project, which includes the 340-room construction of the Live Aqua Beach Resort Tulkal and the 515-room construction of the Fiesta Americana All Inclusive Tulkal located in Chemuyil and Chemuyilito.
The ruling came after a group of local environmentalists were successful in filing an Amparo against the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa), the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (STyPS) by omission in its functions.
Araceli Domínguez Ramírez, president of the Mayab Ecological Group denounced the “terrible” devastation of the coastal area and loss of habitat for the sea turtle as well as the “enormous” risk of affecting the turtle sanctuary.
In his ruling, Judge Villa Arnaiz included the State Health Services (Sesa) in Quintana Roo for not having inspected, closed and removed workers from the site, the same in the case of the STyPS, Profepa and Semarnat for not preventing the construction work from continuing.
“There was omission on the part of Profepa as it did not prevent work on the property from continuing. Likewise, the Ministry of Labor and the State Health Services for not having inspected, closed and removed the workers in the Chemuyil and Chemuyilito works.”
Domínguez Ramírez said that a complaint against the project was initially filed March 12, however, officials from Profepa were reluctant to respond, attend and follow up and / or develop the necessary administrative actions to verify the facts of the complaint.
According to the ruling, the failure to sanction non-compliance with sanitary measures and actions of prevention and containment to prevent the spread of covid 19 was also taken into account to grant the definitive suspension. Profepa has been requested to execute the measures to determine the acts done and omissions constituting the complaint.
The ruling states that inspection and surveillance cannot be postponed given the possible damage to the Chemuyil and Chemuyilito ecosystems, said Araceli Domínguez, who stressed that no guarantee was requested to grant the suspension since, according to the judge, the protection of the environment and natural resources means the “social interest” of Mexicans.
The ruling says “the high court of the country has stated that the right to a healthy environment, as a fundamental right and individual guarantee enshrined in Article 4 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, must be understood as a requirement and a duty.”
