Tulum, Q.R. — A large group of demonstrators interrupted highway traffic in north Tulum Sunday. The group, belonging to Playas Libres (Free Beaches), intermittently blocked vehicles while protesting current conditions.
The group claims the collapse in Tulum’s tourism is the result of current management practices. Others protested what they said was the illegal acquirement of seaside land in Akumal that, to this day, restricts public access.
Over 100 people participated, demanding the release of beaches in Jaguar Park and the removal of both the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp) and Gafsacom, the company that manages the park.
Protestors said those are the ones profiting from the beach access points in the park that should be freely accessible to the public. The Sunday dissidents also demanded federal government intervention to reform the management program to include citizens.
The highway blockade started around 9:30 a.m. where protesters partially blocked one lane of the highway at a time.
President Claudia Sheinbaum was in Cancun this weekend inaugurating the new lagoon bridge.
Tulum demonstrators held signs that read “Claudia, the beaches belong to Tulum”, “Support Tourism and the Local Economy”, “A presidential decree stole our beaches” and “Mundo Maya and CONANP are profiting from our park”.
Many of the protestors demanded that President Sheinbaum resolve the issue where several of Tulum’s beaches are still either not free or not accessible.
They argued that since Gafsacom and Conanp were given authority, the excessive fees being charged for accessing the park and beaches is responsible for the collapse in Tulum tourism.
Street protestors remained on site near the main access to the archaeological zone most of the morning, affecting traffic heading north along Tulum Avenue.
