Neighbors Form Human Wall to Block Removal of Century-Old Tree in Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — About 15 residents, most of them young people, formed a human wall around a towering álamo tree in the city’s Colonia Centro to stop crews from hauling it away.

The group gathered at the site on Avenida 5 Bis between Calles 38 and 40, where workers hired for the job had begun pruning the tree a day earlier ahead of a relocation planned for Saturday.

The move followed a risk assessment issued by Civil Protection officials in response to what was described as a citizen complaint. The assessment concluded that the tree had to be removed from the lot.

Arborist says tree lacks sufficient anchoring

In an interview, arborist Rafael Reynoso Valdés said that although the tree appears healthy, it lacks enough anchoring, which he said justifies moving it. Under the plan, the tree would be replanted on the central median of Bulevar Playa del Carmen, across from Mayakobá.

Neighbors who turned out to block the work argued that the same arborist determined two years ago that the tree was healthy, so it makes little sense for him to now say it must be relocated.

They contended that economic interest, rather than risk, is driving the removal. The lot where the tree stands belongs to the firm Ekasa Desarrollos Inmobiliarios, they said, and they fear the land is being cleared so that construction can begin.

Shanti, one of the protesters, said the tree is likely around a century old, provides habitat for birds and bats, and offers shade and cooler air in that part of the city.

“This kind of tree breaks through the limestone, and the fact that it has survived all these decades means there is a cenote underneath,” she said. “How can you say the tree is a risk, but that it is safe to build over that cenote?”