Mahahual Restaurant Workers Excluded from Royal Caribbean Project

Mahahual, Quintana Roo — Three months after the cruise company Royal Caribbean acquired the Port of Mahahual for approximately $221 million, Luis Gómez Joaquín, leader of the community’s restaurant owners, denounced the tourism company’s exclusion of over 500 workers who make up the 27 restaurants affiliated with the Federación Sindical de Obreros y Campesinos del Estado Quintana Roo (FESCO).

Gómez Joaquín indicated that initially, Jaime López Díaz, director of business development and investments at Royal Caribbean, had held talks with the restaurant representative regarding the implementation of the 27 food establishments within the facilities of the future water park. This was intended so that the restaurant guild would obtain increased profits and thus everyone would benefit from the company’s arrival.

López Díaz even proposed the possibility that restaurant owners could access the cruise ships to have direct contact with tourists.

However, these promises were forgotten with the arrival of Ari Adler Brotman, who was recently appointed president of the shipping company, as the plan to add the 27 restaurants to the project appears to have been discarded.

He mentioned that so far, the State Government has announced the agreement between Royal Caribbean and the local taxi drivers’ union, celebrating it as a success between both parties, while the restaurant guild continues to receive no response.

He described the action as an act of exclusion against the native inhabitants of the locality, since at least 98 percent of the workers in these restaurants are residents of Mahahual.

Meanwhile, the majority of taxi drivers belong to communities near Mahahual such as Limones, Chacchobén, Punta Herrero, among others.

He also highlighted that the restaurant sector is one of the main pillars for the tourist growth of the locality, since each restaurant generates around 20 direct jobs, while also benefiting the circulation of money among local merchants, so the benefit is even greater.

“They are forgetting an extremely important economic pillar in Mahahual. The restaurant zone has been operating in Mahahual for decades. Tourists associate the locality’s beaches with the restaurants, since these are situated along the beach,” mentioned Gómez Joaquín.

He revealed that, although he has attempted to resume the agreement with Cristina Torres, Secretary of Government, there have been no advances so far, which generates uncertainty among restaurant owners, as they fear being excluded from this mega project.

He indicated that it is important for the state government to intervene as soon as possible, since the growth of over 500 families in Mahahual is not being considered, whose workforce and labor have made Mahahual one of the most important tourist destinations in the southern part of the state.