Pressure Mounts on Mexican Senate to Unblock ‘Free Beaches’ Bill After Tulum Access Restrictions

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — A growing wave of public and political pressure is demanding that the Mexican Senate immediately advance a bill guaranteeing free and unrestricted access to the country’s beaches, a constitutional right that activists say has been hijacked by private interests and government projects in northern Quintana Roo.

The call, led by local deputy José Luis Pech Várguez, follows widespread protests in Tulum over the past year after the opening of the federal Jaguar Park project restricted public access to beaches that had historically belonged to the community. The public outcry prompted two federal deputies to introduce a bill in Congress declaring all beaches truly free and open to the public.

Although the lower house approved the measure and formally sent it to the Senate last year, the bill has been stalled in committee and has not been brought to a vote.

In response, a direct appeal has gone viral, targeting the entire Senate and especially Quintana Roo’s senators, urging them to use their political power to unblock the reform and restore free access to the coastline. The Citizens’ Movement party has also joined the demand, arguing that beaches should not be a luxury for a privileged few and that protecting the coastline is essential for future generations.

The campaign gained further momentum through a video posted on social media by Dr. Pech from Playa del Carmen. In the video, he emphasized the need to support the government in defending national sovereignty but insisted that the same force must be applied to ensure citizens’ sovereignty over their own coastline. He stated that a country cannot be free if its own people are denied access to public goods that belong to them by law.