Activists Halt Construction Over Cave Discovery

Playa del Carmen, Mexico — The discovery of the "Spot" cave beneath a housing development has prompted the collective Cenotes Urbanos to request a one-year moratorium to prevent any type of construction in the area and to study this network of subterranean rivers.

Guillermo DChristy, a member of Cenotes Urbanos, stated that this will also allow for the creation of a risk map to determine if the area is susceptible to sinkholes. The "Spot" cave is located within the construction site of the Sendas del Portal housing development, near the La Guadalupana neighborhood, north of Playa del Carmen.

"We believe that a moratorium of at least six months to a year should be implemented for now. This would also provide the opportunity to conduct the necessary studies and proper prospecting to finally generate the information for the risk maps before more construction continues," explained Guillermo DChristy.

A large subterranean cave containing fresh water was discovered by the Cenotes Urbanos collective after a real estate developer carried out drilling work on the karst soil. The discovery occurred three weeks ago in the urban expansion area also near the Universidades zone.

At the site, a company is constructing the Sendas del Portal housing development, a new real estate project located at the end of Xel-Ha Avenue. The cave was baptized "The Spot" by its discoverer, Talismán Cruz.

"Even knowing that there is a cavern below and that there could be a risk, this is part of the misinformation. Construction companies are in a hurry to sell, to leave, and the ones who are left with the problems are the people who, in many cases in good faith, buy their properties but don't really know what is underneath," elaborated Guillermo DChristy.

A review of federally promoted environmental impact projects for the area showed that the Sendas del Portal housing development does not appear in the registry. This is the second large cave system discovered nearby.