Mahahual, Quintana Roo — Environmental group Sélvame MX has warned that Royal Caribbean’s proposed Perfect Day project would generate a massive daily load of human waste that, if approved, would contaminate the mangroves and coral reefs of this coastal community.
“The feces and urine of 21,000 daily visitors is what Perfect Day will leave for Mahahual’s mangroves and reef,” the organization said Monday, as controversy swirls around the project still under review by the federal Environment Ministry (Semarnat).
The group accused all three levels of government of hypocrisy, saying they “attack existing parks and demonize them, but their eyes light up at the prospect of a few coins and they are willing to continue destroying biocultural heritage.”
Sélvame MX also criticized how the environmental sanitation tax charged to tourists is spent. “The governments don’t care about the residents of Mahahual or any other community in Quintana Roo. If they did, they would use the taxes collected from tourists for environmental sanitation to properly operate the wastewater treatment plant that currently overflows into the sea in this town,” the group said.
The organization asserted that no wastewater treatment meeting official standards would produce water of the quality the reef requires. “The standard is designed to allow pollution,” it warned.
“No to the feces and urine of 21,000 daily visitors in Mahahual. No to the chemicals from their pools. No to the fats and oils from their restaurants,” the group concluded.
The statement comes after President Claudia Sheinbaum reiterated Monday that Semarnat is analyzing the Perfect Day megaproject. She said the government is investigating the potential impact to decide whether to grant a construction permit or seek an alternative.
A citizen petition to stop the project on Change.org has surpassed 2 million signatures since it was launched in late July 2025.
