We will fight them FOR the beaches…

Over the last thirty years, hundreds of beaches in Mexico have been “privatized” generally under the fiction of a concession to a hotel or development project that advertises “beachfront properties”.  This has always been technically illegal, but, the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house of Congress) has overwhelmingly passed a new bill which will clarify that ALL beaches in Mexico are public property, as Article 2 of the Constitution has always said.

Playacar… not private… in theory: “They do have hotel guest on them from the all inclusive resorts but don’t get many locals because it is more distant from public access. Even from within Playacar there is limited access to the beach if you are not staying at one of the all inclusive hotels. This does not mean you cannot use the beach, you just need to find access to it first.” (“http://everythingplayadelcarmen.com”)

Passed by 406 in favor, 7 opposed and 20 abstaining, the bill ensures that beaches are open to the public, and where there is no public access, that private landowners are obliged to provide an easement for the public.  Blocking access or refusing entry to the beach will earn the “owner” a fine of between 3000 and 12,000 “UMA”s (UMA is an unit based on various economic references — including the daily minimum wage for year… used to calculate among other things, mortgage rates and court fines).  At today’s figure, that’s between about 250,000 and a million pesos per infraction.

The bill still needs to go to the Senate, and I expect a few minor changes, but… while tourism is important to the economy… tourists don’t vote.

(Source: Polimon, “Diputados aprueban ley que prohibe las playas privadas en México“, 30 April 2019)