An ongoing dispute between citizens and resort developers on the Pacific coast of Nayarit flared up this month, capturing headlines in regional media outlets. The crux of the conflict is the right of public access to the shoreline area in the designated federal Maritime-Terrestrial Zone (ZOFEMAT).
While the circumstances are different, the controversy parallels similar invasive actions in the Zona Federal that borders Lake Chapala.
Throughout this month, residents and activists in Punta de Mita have staged multiple protests at Playa de Las Cocina, where developers have been erecting stone barriers along the shoreline in front of their building projects. Opponents say the stone walls are going up within the 20-meter-wide boundaries of the ZOFEMAT, causing damage to a natural area and national property protected under the Mexican Constitution.
Las Cocinas is not only a legally protected place for public use. It is recognized as a prime zone for the reproduction of sea turtles. Alterations to the landscape threaten its viability as a cradle for a species in danger of extinction.
So what is the link to Lake Chapala? Residents and activist groups have likewise dedicated years to calling out the National Water Commission (Conagua) for failing to fulfill its obligations to oversee the proper use and occupation of the Zona Federal along the lake’s shoreline.
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