On May 8, the judge granted a provisional suspension on the works of the hotel chain, after the injunction filed by the Mayab Ecological Group (GEMA), represented by the activist Araceli Dominguez; with the support of a group of experts in conservation and sea turtle protection.
Efraín Álvarez Huerta, an environmental lawyer and one of the defenders of the site, confirmed the judge’s decision to stop the works, which continued throughout April despite the health contingency.
Álvarez Huerta commented that the decision is expected to be contested by the defendant, Grupo Posadas.
At the moment the hotel chain cannot carry out any work on the site.
Among the indications by the group of experts is the negative impact on the nesting of sea turtles due to the modification of the coastal dynamics, as well as the alleged damage to the surrounding coral ecosystems, due to the dispersion of sediments.
They also point out the omission of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) in the approval of the hotel project and its complementary works involving the extraction of sand, construction of artificial beaches and a cove, as well as the installation of concrete structures in the water that modify the ocean currents.
The provisional suspension granted to the environmental group also forced the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) to attend to the more than 50 environmental complaints filed by citizens since July 2019.
Source: The Riviera Maya Times
