Mahahual, Q.R. — Over 200,000 signatures have been collected against the Royal Caribbean Perfect Day Mexico project for Mahahual. The cruise ship company has already taken administrative control of the land purchased for the project.
By the Fall of 2027, the Port of Mahahual will be revamped into a 90 hectare water park owned by Royal Caribbean. The campaign against the project was started by Morgane Vainberg, an SSI divemaster and social anthropologist in July.
For the cause she writes “a massive project led by the multinational Royal Caribbean, called Perfect Day Mexico, threatens the very existence of Mahahual, a coastal town in southeastern Mexico bordering the world’s second-largest coral reef.
“This project involves the construction of a 90-hectare water park on a protected mangrove forest, a natural barrier essential to marine life, ecological balance, and our future.
“This project directly threatens: our rights of access and use of the sea, beaches, and mangroves, our local identity, our way of life, our freedom to live here, and above all, the survival of unique and threatened ecosystems: three species of sea turtles, resident manatees, living mangroves, and the second largest coral reef in the world.
“We have already witnessed their environmental management: videos circulating showing the dumping of wastewater into the mangroves adjacent to their facilities. And today, it’s not just a cruise ship dock, but a giant water park.
“This project is not an isolated case. In CocoCay (Bahamas), an identical Royal Caribbean project already led to” the exclusion of local populations from their coastline, with the privatization of coastal areas that were previously freely accessible.
“The massive destruction of biodiversity through the elimination of mangroves and pollution of the reef, causing a drastic reduction in marine fauna and the almost exclusive enrichment of the multinational .
“Royal Caribbean plans to welcome up to 20,000 tourists per day. With them, tons of chemical sunscreen, plastic waste, water-polluting mega-cruise ships, and absurd freshwater consumption in a region already suffering from water stress.
“All of this destroys mangroves and still-living coastlines, without a serious environmental impact study, and dispossesses local communities of their own territories, as has already happened elsewhere.
“We are not opposed to development or tourism. But we believe in a model based on sustainability, respect for ecosystems, and justice for local communities. A model that reinforces what makes Mahahual valuable, rather than replacing it.
“The authorities have no obligation to consult the local population, and environmental oversight mechanisms are currently too weak to guarantee the protection of Mahahual.
“What we ask for Mahahual: The immediate cancellation of the project “A Perfect Day Mexico” as it is planned, a rigorous, independent and public environmental impact assessment, recognition of the right of local communities to decide their future and protect their territory,
“The opening of a national debate on the tourism model we want for Mexico because defending Mahahual means defending nature, human rights, and the future of our oceans.”
In July, Royal Caribbean officially took administrative control of the Port of the Grand Costa Maya. According to Jay Schnaider, the Director of Product Innovation for Royal Caribbean, “we are now administrators of the port and have begun working on the development of Perfect Day Mahahual.” Once started, the revamp is expected to take two years. Royal Caribbean has a scheduled operation date for Fall of 2027.
