Thanks for writing, Bruce! Here’s the thing: we could report what we hear about the Akumal Bay situation, but we wouldn’t be able to vouch for its objectivity or truthfulness. The social (and anti-social) media as well as the press is full of words, words that have some truth, slanted truth, no truth, and plenty of personal opinion — the problem is in the separation. What follows are things that were personally experienced by us.
Another problem is that the words change frequently: you may be told at 5:50 am that the road will not be barricaded, but at 8:00 when you’d like to leave, the barricade is in place (happened to an editor on 17 Feb). You may be told that you can’t access Akumal Bay beach by the traditional entrance (you being a gringa), that only Mexicans who live in the pueblo can use that entrance. And, Bruce, that actually happened to an AkumalNow editor on 6 January 2016. Now, seven weeks later, Mexicans who live in the pueblo can’t use that entrance either.
Two AkumalNow editors observed the peaceful demonstration Sunday 28 February. A group in excess of 385 persons, mostly from Akumal, marched from the cancha in the pueblo to Akumal Bay beach, where they made their presence known. The marchers were all ages, including families with their babies and small children. At issue is Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution (text in separate article) which deals with “Ownership of the lands and waters …”. The march lasted about 4 hours.
The editors walked back from the beach along the road from Lamanai Gallery beside part of the new fencing and the pushed-over statue at the arch.
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