Chetumal, Quintana Roo — A federal judge has dismissed a fourth amparo lawsuit filed by an environmental group against land-use changes that paved the way for Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day project in Mahahual, the group announced Tuesday.
The civil association Defendiendo el Derecho a un Medio Ambiente Sano (Dmas) said First District Judge Eugenia Maritza Valencia Hernandez rejected the latest legal challenge, which sought to overturn modifications to the Mahahual Population Center Urban Development Program (PDU) 2021. The lawsuit cited a recent statement by the federal Environment Ministry (Semarnat) confirming that the project had not been authorized, which Dmas argued proved local authorities violated sustainability and environmental prevention principles when approving the land-use change.
In a social media post, Dmas said the amparo aimed to have the federal judiciary review whether the municipal government of Othón P. Blanco, led by Mayor Yensunni Martínez Hernández, and the state’s Sustainable Territorial and Urban Development Secretariat (Sedetus), headed by Alberto Alonso Ovando, acted in accordance with legality, prevention, precaution, and environmental protection principles.
However, Judge Valencia Hernández dismissed the case, arguing that citizens have only 15 days from the publication of administrative acts to file a complaint, and that the deadline had passed, thereby forfeiting their right to challenge potential environmental harm.
Dmas called the judge’s reasoning a convenient excuse to protect the land-use change. The group noted that this same judge has now rejected four amparo lawsuits filed by citizens supported by Dmas in the past five months, using what they described as a nonsensical logic to block them.
The organization drew a parallel to the successful legal battle a decade ago to save the Tajamar Malecón in Cancún, where amparo lawsuits were filed against an illegal environmental authorization issued 12 years earlier, without any such statute of limitations being imposed.
“Today, imposing a 15-day deadline for environmental defense is an unacceptable setback,” Dmas said in its statement.
Dmas previously alleged that the Othón P. Blanco municipality modified land use on properties containing mangrove forests, opening the door to the tourism development despite known risks to the environment. “We cannot ignore the complicity of the municipal government regarding the land-use changes in Mahahual. If it was already known that Perfect Day would put our environment at risk, why were local authorities the first to open the doors?” the group questioned.
