Mayor’s Legal Setup and Eco Neglect Exposed

Bacalar, Quintana Roo — While environmental specialists have expressed concern that the Maya Train project has generated potential impacts on the Laguna de Bacalar, Mayor José Alfredo Contreras Méndez has shown disinterest and has positioned himself in favor of the destruction of the "Pueblo Mágico," of which he is also the national president.

The mayor stated that the impact the Laguna de los Siete Colores suffered in past eras, due to runoff from neighboring states, is now diminishing following the construction of the Maya Train tracks.

Without experience in environmental matters or basic studies, Mayor José Alfredo Contreras Méndez said there is a need to reinforce studies and programs aimed at the conservation of this body of water, as species such as the "plecostomus" or "devil fish" and changes in water chemistry have recently been observed.

The monitoring of the ecosystems of the main attraction of this tourist hub involves the State Government through the Secretary of Ecology and Environment, the College of the Southern Border, the University of Milwaukee, the Bacalar municipal government, as well as other institutions and environmental groups.

The mayor justified that the railway infrastructure coming from Yucatán and traversing all of Quintana Roo until connecting with Campeche acts as a massive dike that diverts and even filters rainwater runoff, preventing contaminants and other agents that used to blur the hues of the Laguna during certain seasons from reaching it.

According to the mayor, this helps conserve the lagoon system, independent of the need to reinforce studies and other actions, as warned by specialists from the College of the Southern Border.

Fabrication of Crimes

In addition to the above, the mayor is again at the center of controversy, now accused of leading an alleged legal setup to strip a businessman of his business. The public complaint has sparked outrage, revealing what appears to be a new case of political repression and corruption.

In a letter addressed to the authorities, the businessman directly accuses "Chepe" and his treasurer, Paul Romero, of fabricating crimes against him to take over the Itzá Bar & Brasa restaurant, located at the El Aserradero beach club, where he and his wife, Russian citizen Viktoriya Ankudinova, have invested over the last two years.

The complaint is aggravated by the knowledge that in 2023, Acuña filed an investigation file SGE/QRO/BAC12/677/2023 against Luis Justo Carrión Cuéllar, an individual linked to multiple frauds with over 50 lawsuits in his record. However, not only was that case frozen, but the complainant is now being pursued with charges that smell of political revenge.

The partiality of the authorities appears to respond to the interests of the mayor, who has been previously accused of authoritarian practices.

To date, the Bacalar City Council remains silent in the face of serious accusations involving its mayor in an alleged scheme of corporate dispossession, institutional violence, and political repression. It appears, the article notes, that this is why he has recently begun to show curiosity about the Laguna de los Siete Colores.