Maya Council and Xcaret Push Supreme Court to Drop Indigenous Symbols Case

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — The Gran Consejo Maya and the Xcaret eco-tourism park have asked the president of Mexico’s Supreme Court (SCJN), Justice Hugo Aguilar Ortiz, to throw out a new petition that would allow the court to complete its review of a dispute over the park’s use of Maya communities’ symbols in its attractions.

The request follows the court’s decision to lift a suspension that had allowed Xcaret to keep using Maya symbols in its shows and attractions. Community members, including those from the Tixcacal Guardia ceremonial center, have again asked the court to step in so that the justices themselves conclude the analysis of an amparo lawsuit.

The case is once more before the court. In a recent ruling issued as part of a hearing of arguments, the court recorded that the Gran Consejo Maya and Xcaret had asked for the review to be dismissed.

“The petitioners submit statements seeking the dismissal of this request and, where appropriate, the authorization — prior to its resolution — of a hearing to set out what they consider pertinent to the assessment of this matter,” the file on case 159/2026 states.

Aguilar Ortiz rejected the arguments put forward by both parties.

Case traces back to March suspension ruling

The matter stems from a March ruling on a suspension incident that invalidated a measure allowing the company to use certain Maya symbols in its attractions. That dispute began with a challenge to actions by the National Institute of Copyright (Indautor).

That earlier determination did not definitively resolve the conflict, as it was a precautionary measure issued within the amparo proceedings. The court’s eventual intervention would allow the substance of the dispute to be examined and determine whether the challenged legal provisions are constitutional and what their scope is with respect to protecting the cultural heritage of Indigenous communities.