Mangrove forests are being destroyed on the coast of Yucatan to build the new “Riviera of Mexico”

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“The mangrove forests from Dzilam de Bravo to Santa Clara have been filled in and have fallen into the hands of the real estate mafia, which plans to build buildings there.”

Regardless of environmental regulations, heavy equipment began to fill in the mangroves from Dzilam de Bravo to Santa Clara, in an unprecedented ecological devastation to transform that protected area into another area of ​​the “new Riviera of Mexico”.

Since Saturday, August 24, the fishermen have been asking for the intervention of the federal prosecutor for environmental protection and without the authorities doing anything, they are just watching the destruction of the mangroves continue with impunity.

The residents of Dzilam de Bravo showed that the area with the greatest destruction is at kilometer 27, between that port and Santa Clara.

They reveal that behind the raising of the mangroves is a well-known politician, coming from a business family, who uses nominees to carry out this ecological crime.

The destruction of the mangrove forests on the beaches of Dzilam de Bravo has sparked outrage among fishermen and residents of the community, who accuse politicians and businessmen of being behind a plan to illegally seize these lands.

According to the complaints, politicians with ties to the National Action Party of Yucatan, in collaboration with the Federal Prosecutor for Environmental Protection (Profepa), forged documents in the municipality of Dzidzantún to steal land from Dzilam de Bravo, in complete disregard of the area’s environmental laws.

The allegations reveal that since Saturday, August 24, residents of the area have reported to Profepa the use of heavy equipment in protected areas, destroying much of the local flora, including the mangrove, a species protected by law.

And that is exactly what the victims want to know from the Financial Investigation Unit how one of the front men, surnamed Suárez, got the money to buy a 30 million pesos mansion and how this summer he also bought a brand new 36-foot yacht, with a price tag of more than 8 million pesos, which he anchored at the Moonplace beachfront residence.

Locals say that until 2018, the now prominent real estate developer ran a phone booth business in the Itzimná neighborhood of Mérida, next to the Eloísa Patrón school, earning 36 thousand a month. Over the past six years, he has earned an average salary of 90 thousand a month as a government advisor, meaning that even without spending a single peso of his income, he would save 6 million,480 thousand pesos in one year, much less than the cost of the yacht alone.

A satellite photo raised alarms on Sunday, August 18, when it was confirmed that the mangrove area on the northern coast, despite being a protected area under national and international laws, has fallen into the hands of the so-called “real estate mafia”, which is destroying and dividing up land along the Yucatan coast, from Telchac Puerto to Santa Clara.

According to an anonymous source, the destruction of the flora and mangrove forests on the beaches of Dzilam de Bravo is based on the alleged falsification of documents from the Dzidzantún City Council, in order to take these lands from local fishermen.

The fishermen of Dzilam de Bravo responded that the affected area has no relation to Dzidzantún, but that the developers claim that they have legal ownership of the mangrove forests.

“Since Saturday, August 24, we have informed Profepa about the illegal use of machinery in protected areas, which has destroyed the entire mangrove. “Everyone looks the other way, these businessmen say they are protected by government people, that’s why they do what they want,” said one of the fishermen from Dzilam de Bravo, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.

The community is alarmed not only by the destruction of the mangrove forests, which are vital to the livelihood of local fishermen, but also by the blatant violation of environmental regulations and the abuse of power by those who should protect the natural heritage and communal lands.

Residents are demanding that the destruction of the mangrove forests be stopped immediately and that those involved be thoroughly investigated, before it is too late to save what remains of the protected nature reserve in Dzilam de Bravo.

TYT News Desk