Mexican Military Defies Court Order in Bacalar Construction

Chetumal, Mexico — The civil association Defendiendo el Derecho a un Medio Ambiente Sano (DMAS) and the Consejo Ciudadano y Científico Pro Restauración y Preservación de Bacalar have denounced the continued construction of a military rest house on the shores of Bacalar Lagoon by Mexico’s Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena). The project persists despite a definitive suspension order issued by the First District Court of the state as part of an injunction filed by DMAS against the project and the authorities who permitted it.

Second Suspension Ignored

The definitive suspension was granted to DMAS and the association Proyecto Justicia Común (Projuc) during a hearing on June 5, marking the second such order issued by the court. However, like the first suspension granted to a group of Bacalar citizens on May 6 and a provisional suspension still in effect due to a lawsuit filed by local children and adolescents, these precautionary measures from three separate injunctions have failed to halt construction progress.

Photographs accompanying public complaints by DMAS and the Consejo Ciudadano show that work has advanced significantly, with the concrete structure of the rest house’s swimming pool already completed. Images also capture a truck with a mixing machine used for the ongoing construction.

Legal and Environmental Concerns

According to DMAS, the definitive suspension legally requires an immediate halt to construction while the court resolves the underlying injunction. The lawsuit challenges the irregular approval of an exemption from an Environmental Impact Assessment (MIA) by the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), the lack of environmental oversight by the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) and Bacalar municipal authorities, and Sedena’s direct execution of the project without environmental authorization.

José Mario de la Garza, Strategic Litigation Coordinator for Projuc, stated that the judge granted the suspension after determining sufficient evidence exists to consider the military facility a "serious threat to ecological balance and the human rights of the community." The court ordered an immediate halt to construction due to the high risk of irreversible environmental damage.

Pending Judicial Review

The judge ruled that construction must stop to examine the legality and constitutionality of permits granted to Sedena, assessing whether they comply with national and international standards for the right to a healthy environment and cultural rights.

For the final ruling, the court will review Semarnat’s MIA exemption for Sedena, construction permits issued by the Bacalar municipality, and mitigation measures submitted by the military. Additional scrutiny will include an inspection report from Profepa and responses from other federal, state, and municipal authorities, including the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), the State Attorney for Environmental Protection (PPA), and Quintana Roo’s Secretariat of Ecology and Environment (SEMA).