Chichen Itza Closure: Pisté Council Takes Conflict to Supreme Court

Cancún, Quintana Roo — The Indigenous Government Council of the Maya Community of Pisté has filed a legal injunction with federal courts to block state and federal authorities’ decisions regarding a new access scheme at the Chichen Itza archaeological site, which remains closed amid the conflict.

In a statement released Wednesday, the council said the amparo — a constitutional protection appeal — was registered under case number 1219/2026 and has been assigned to a federal judge for review. The group is seeking a suspension of government actions it claims are being imposed on the community without its consent.

“We now place the justice for the families of Pisté in the hands of the Court,” the council said.

The legal action comes amid rising tensions over the closure of Chichen Itza and opposition from local artisans to the new operating model promoted by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and Yucatán state authorities. The dispute centers on the new Visitor Attention Center (CATVI) and the permanent closure of the old entrance to the archaeological zone — a move rejected by community members and tour operators from the Mexican Caribbean.

Tour operators from Cancún and the Riviera Maya have urged INAH and Cultur Yucatán to share details of the project, warning that the lack of information could affect tourists who visit Chichen Itza daily from Quintana Roo. Sergio González Rubiera, president of the Mexican Association of Incoming Tourism Agencies (AMATUR), said the sector has not been formally consulted and criticized the access conditions for visitors.

“The ones we are affecting are the tourists, who have to walk a long way under the blazing sun to enter the archaeological site,” he said.

INAH Director General Joel Omar Vázquez Herrera has defended the new model, stating that the old entrance will not reopen. He said the CATVI integrates communities, merchants, and service providers, and will allow only 666 vendors registered during 2025 to operate.

The closure of Chichen Itza continues to generate economic losses and social tension among artisans, merchants, guides, and tour operators in both Yucatán and Quintana Roo.