Playa del Carmen, Mexico — The National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI) has delivered an official certificate to Punta Laguna, formally recognizing it as a community of the municipality of Playa del Carmen.
Hermelindo Be Cituk, president of the Plural Indigenous National Assembly for Autonomy (ANIPA), reported that this certificate resolves the long-standing territorial dispute with Valladolid, Yucatán, which had left the population of this community in an administrative limbo and without access to key resources.
According to the interviewee, two years ago, authorities from Valladolid attempted to annex this community, as they considered it a commissariat of that municipality. He stated that this certificate also validates Punta Laguna as a Mayan community with its own territory, institutions, and forms of organization, under the principles of autonomy and self-determination.
The declarative document was signed by the general director of the INPI, Adelfo Regino Montes, he said.
The interviewee asserted that this community, as well as other bordering localities, has lost resources for years due to an inability to prove which state it belonged to. "Due to political issues and a lack of attention," added the activist.
He emphasized that it is now the responsibility of the Playa del Carmen City Council to provide public services to this border community.
Finally, he added that this community has high ecotourism potential thanks to its lagoon; an attraction that residents have leveraged to offer various activities.
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