After almost three years, tourists and locals are free to access the Tenacatita beach without being scrutinized by surly, armed security guards.
State police officers acting under the instructions of Jalisco Governor Aristoteles Sandoval on Sunday afternoon dismantled an illegal checkpoint blocking the only road leading to the pristine beach that had been erected by a Guadalajara developer in August 2010.
Although locals, as yet, are not permitted to resume their labors catering to tourists in Tenacatita’s federal maritime-terrestrial zone, they have welcomed the move as an important first step in wrestling back the disputed area from Guadalajara businessman Jose Villalobos, who has plans to build a luxury tourist development there.
As part of the agreement to open access to the beach, La Huerta Mayor Julian de Niz has signed a document promising not to issue any kind of license or authorization granting locals permission to reopen their seafood restaurants or work in the federal zone. In addition, locals (and some foreigners) will not be permitted to reclaim their properties, at least until the legal situation is resolved.
“Although we’d like to see all the changes happen at once, so people can open businesses again on the beach, this is the first BIG step,” wrote Dobie Dolphin, an expat New Yorker active in the movement to reclaim Tenacatita land, on a local message board. “The most important thing for us to do is respect the terms of the concession, which means use of the zona federal, although we’ve been asked not to go into any of the buildings. Once the terms of the concession (playa libre, recreo, malecon) have been satisfied, the mayor of La Huerta can submit a plan to change the concession, but for the moment, no permits will be available, which means no vendors on the beach.”
In August 2010, Villalobos’ company Inmobiliaria Rodenas won a two-decade court battle that gave him the green light to evict some 800 people – mostly from the Rebalse de Apazulco communal ejido farming community – who had been working and living on the beach and its adjoining land since the 1960s. With the assistance of Jalisco Governor Emilio Gonzalez of the National Action Party (PAN), 150 state police officers descended on the beach and evicted locals on the night of August 4, 2010. There were numerous complaints of police brutality during the eviction.
Villalobos then fenced off an area that he claimed title to, and employed armed state auxiliary police officers (from his own private company) to prevent access to the beach via the only road that cuts through the disputed land.
Although the Mexican Constitution states that all the country’s beaches must have free access for the public, he consistently justified his actions. “The road stops at the start of our property. After this point there is only our land,” Villalobos told this newspaper in 2010.
Despite legal moves by the ejido to reclaim the land and state and federal edicts ordering the beach to be reopened, Villalobos managed to maintain the support of Jalisco authorities. He eventually permitted tourists (not locals, property owners or members of the ejido) to drive to the beach but only after they were carefully screened at the checkpoint by the security guards.
During his campaign for governor of Jalisco earlier this year, Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Aristoteles Sandoval vowed to tear down the gate on day one of his administration, should he win the July 1 election.
After his decisive victory, Sandoval said was unable to keep that promise immediately “for legal reasons” but subsequently held meetings with locals to thrash out a solution. The most recent of these reportedly took place last week, when, according to State Secretary General Arturo Zamora, locals agreed to keep the peace and not try to reclaim their properties.
According to Dolphin, the handful of state police officers assigned to the beach will ensure there are no problems between locals and the private security guards. “Until the juicio (court case) between the ejido and Rodenas is resolved, (that company) will be protecting what they consider their property. But they are going to have to indicate, in some way, exactly where they think their land is. Also the municipality has to get an expert in to delineate where the federal zone is, so it’s clear to everyone.”
Dolphin praised La Huerta Mayor de Niz, who she said has made three visits to the zone in the last three weeks to keep locals informed. “He’s very pleased with the support he’s getting from the governor’s office. At a meeting a few nights ago, he said that the municipality will be bringing a dumpster for trash and ten portable toilets (five for women and five for men) and will arrange for them to be emptied.”
Villalobos issued a statement this week calling the government’s decision to remove the checkpoint “absurd” and “illegal.”
Speaking to reporters, Zamora said no action would be taken against Villalobos for ignoring edicts issued requiring him to remove the illegal checkpoint.
As Dolphin celebrated what she called “a huge first step,” she urged visitors to return to Tenacatita.
“The most important thing now is for people to enjoy the beach, to pick up their trash and put it where it belongs, not to engage with Rodenas’ security, to be respectful and not to go where you’re told not to go.”