September 15, 2016
The right of passage to the federal zone is just that. It’s intended for everyone, of any nationality, to be able to access the beaches of Mexico for their recreational use.
But imagine if this law was applied to every beachfront property along the coast, whether a house, a condo, a villa, a hotel, or a restaurant. The government of Mexico opened up the Riviera Maya for tourism, and never thought of that. They did not leave enough public beaches, with bathroom and lifeguard facilities, picnic areas, trashcans and security. Instead they sold all the land they could, and then realized they needed an Urban Development Plan for the area.
This Urban Development Plan was approved in 2007 for the period 2007–2032. At that time, they designated the “Windows to the Sea” in order to provide access to the beach for the general public.
The central part of Akumal Bay never had a “window” designated, because this area is private property. However, the general public is passing freely to the bay given the unique situation that one of the private properties is not a hotel or a restaurant or a house or villa or condo. It is an Ecological Center and had always been and continues to be open to the community and everyone visiting Akumal.
The government declared a Window to the Sea on the southern part of the Main Bay just down the beach to the south of Akumal Bay Resort, along with all the others they designated in the area. None of these Windows to the Sea were opened up on Private Property.
The original developer of Akumal, Pablo Bush Romero, bought the entire piece of land as one parcel. The subdivisions he submitted for Akumal were how he envisioned the area could be developed. At that time, the municipal and state governments approved the subdivisions without requiring Environmental Impact Studies, public beach accesses, or centralized sewage treatment to name a few. It was very fortunate that Pablo was not a developer, he was a Ford Dealer, and his hobby was underwater archaeology and exploration, and he fell in love with the area. He only developed a small portion of Akumal with very low density and today the family property fully complies with all Environmental Laws.
As the years went by, the government introduced environmental laws and agencies that required new developments/developers to apply for permits. The old subdivisions that had not been built on were no longer valid, and as each subdivision was sold, the developers had to submit a new proposal for the land and comply with all the new requirements. This included Aventuras Akumal, South Akumal, Jade Bay, and Punta Sur. Of those, the newer subdivisions now have Public Beach Accesses, because they were designed into them when the developers applied for their permits, thus not having to use anyone’s private property.
Today, there is a dispute over private property rights on the Main Bay of Akumal. Two pieces of land that were once one piece, and that were subdivided by Pablo Bush Romero are being challenged by a group of people that claim there is a public access there. One piece, he donated to a non profit organization, Club de Yates Akumal, which is now Centro Ukana I Akumal AC (CEA). The other, the family business Hotel Akumal Caribe. Both pieces of land were Pablo’s, and yet today the family is being challenged and their private property rights have been violated.
Private property is the right of a particular individual or entity to use, enjoy and dispose of within the limitations established by law.
In our legal system private property has been recognized as an individual guarantee from the Constitution of 1814. In the current Constitution there is reference to a number of fundamental human rights, protecting private property against arbitrary acts of authority.
Article 14 states that no person shall be deprived of liberty or property, possessions or rights without a trial before previously established courts in which due process is observed and in accordance with laws issued prior to the fact.
Furthermore, Article 16 says that no one may be affected in his person, family, home, papers or possessions, except by written order of the competent authority which is founded and motivated by legal procedural cause.
These provisions are fundamental human rights that are aimed at protecting private property from arbitrary acts of authority, which must respect and protect private property. The authority has the obligation to care for the property of individuals, acts or omissions made illegally through third parties or other arbitrary acts of authority.
Boundary lines between CEA and Hotel Akumal Caribe have been corrected over the years. This is very common as adjustments are made over time under new governments with new technology. The lines were first corrected by the Municipality of Cozumel, then by the Municipality of Solidaridad (Playa del Carmen) and more recently by the Municipality of Tulum. Each claimed that their instruments were correct, and the past ones were not. These certifications do not prove or indicate any wrongdoing, nor do these documents indicate or certify that there is a separate title for a public Access.
Certainly not by a group of citizens who push a vote by the Municipal council that is not the legal entity to decide on matters of Land Registry, thus violating several laws. Certainly not without a court order, and without the proper officials present to carry out a notification before they take land over. Certainly not by destroying private property. The courts recognized the illegality of these actions on September 2, 2016.
Imagine if one day that a group of people representing a commercial activity in front of your property decides that they want to open up an access through your land to get to the beach. Imagine that you have all your paperwork to prove it is yours, and yet they allege that you stole land from the federal government through an adjustment in your property boundaries with your neighbour.
Imagine that the neighbor had been allowing access through his land for years through a pathway they have on their property. That pathway shows up on your Certification of Means and Boundaries document stating that the neighbouring property has an access to the beach, but it did not say a “Public” Access to the beach. Furthermore, that pathway is not in the Land Registry record, because it is only a reference to a pathway that the property has leading to the beach, and yet a group of private citizens say it is Public based on this.
And suppose that those arguments were used to have a group of private citizens come in and take over a portion of your land, tear down your palapas and whatever else is in their way, and take over that access and control it as if they were the government! And imagine that no government official was sent to manage this so-called Public Access and that the government allows a group of private citizens to manage it; to tell people what they want, and carry out their business the way they see fit through this access. This is not a Public Access, this is an invaded piece of private property run and controlled by a group from the private sector that conduct snorkel tours in the bay.
You do not need to imagine any of this, because that IS what is happening today. The rights to access the main beach of Akumal have never been violated. There has not been one day that there have not been people freely going in and out of the main bay to the beach.
The rights of private property are being violated through the abuse and disregard of the laws of Mexico.
The following article was provided by the owner/operator of Hotel Akumal Caribe as a reflection on the recent events.
