Chetumal, Quintana Roo — The environmental group Defending the Right to a Healthy Environment (DMAS) has raised concerns about the impartiality of a federal judge who will rule on an amparo — a legal protection — against land-use changes that pave the way for Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day project in Mahahual.
The group said the amparo, filed against modifications to the Urban Development Program (PDU) approved by the Othón P. Blanco city council in December 2025, will be reviewed by Judge Eugenia Margarita Valencia of the First District Court. DMAS claims Valencia has denied them access to justice on three previous occasions.
“The new amparo against the land-use change for the Perfect Day project will be reviewed by the same judge who has already denied us access to justice three times,” the group said in a statement.
DMAS members expressed fear that history would repeat itself and that the court would again apply criteria contrary to their legal arguments. “We are worried that they will once again shut the door in our faces for access to justice,” they said.
The group warned that if authorities change their interpretation criteria to suit their convenience, the community must remain vigilant. “If the authority changes the criteria to its convenience, the community must watch twice as hard, because Mahahual demands legality and legal consistency,” they said.
DMAS also cautioned that Royal Caribbean could proceed with the Perfect Day development in 2027 without obstacles. “Major transformations and destruction advance when no one is watching, and that is why we need everyone to pay attention to the First District Court,” they said.
The group reiterated that the Mahahual community continues its fight for a healthy environment and that the amparo seeks to review the city council’s decisions that enabled the project from an urban planning perspective. “When an authority changes the rules of the territory, it must demonstrate that its decision protects the public interest. We cannot ignore the municipal government’s complicity in the land-use changes in Mahahual,” the organization concluded.
