Tulum Court Halts Adamar Solimán Building Regularization

Tulum, Mexico — A federal court has ruled in favor of the civil association Defendiendo el Derecho a un Medio Ambiente Sano (DMAS), issuing a suspension to halt any municipal license issued by the Tulum government for the Adamar Solimán building, a construction project built on a sea turtle nesting area.

The ruling annuls municipal license DGDTUSN 24-0459, which was issued by the Tulum municipality. The building is already subject to a protective injunction (amparo) sentence that orders the developer to demolish the structure. However, that order has not been enforced as the involved company filed an appeal against the measure.

In a recent move to regularize the construction, the company Desarrollos Tulum Dieciséis requested authorization from the Tulum municipality. In response, the civil association DMAS filed a new amparo lawsuit seeking to nullify the authorization granted to the developer.

The Second District Court ruled in favor of DMAS, citing the need to protect the right to a healthy environment.

"The precautionary measure was requested on the grounds of an infringement of the right to a healthy environment, in which, as a general rule, upon admission of the lawsuit on fundamental rights, the allegations are presented without full proof that demonstrates the imminent damage to the environment; the collective nature of the right to a healthy environment means that the imminent damage to the environmental services provided by an ecosystem must be evaluated from the perspective of the precautionary principle, according to which a lack of scientific certainty cannot lead to the conclusion that such damage does not exist," argued Judge Fátima Marroquín Rodríguez of the Second District Court.

The amparo lawsuit was filed in February 2024 against various authorities for permitting construction work to be carried out for the developer Adamar Solimán. The federal court ruled in favor of the civil association just this past Tuesday, September 9.

With this latest ruling, the legal situation for Adamar Solimán becomes further complicated. Despite the legal challenges, the structure remains standing.