Pulmo-Gate scandal rocks Mexico
In the ongoing effort to save one of the world’s most important marine parks, Cabo Pulmo in southern Baja, WiLDCOAST and conservationists in Mexico were shocked to learn that scandalous emails were exchanged between Mexican federal authorities and the company working to develop the Cabo Cortes mega-resort near Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park.
The project developer, Hansa Urbana and the Mexican authorities allegedly orchestrated the terms of the announcement of the reinstatement of the project’s building permits and arranged the way the developer was going to react when the “partial” permits were publicly announced.
As a result of these revelations, Mexico’s Minister of the Environment, Rafael Elvira Quezada, was summoned to appear before Mexico’s Congress.
Mexico’s Senate is working to better understand the procedures that were followed which authorized the controversial real estate development of Cabo Cortes, located adjacent to one of the most robust marine protected areas on the planet, and the only coral reef in the Sea of Cortes.
During his appearance Elvira must reveal the details of the authorization process and update the future steps of that process in order to re-authorize parts of the polemic project that have been suspended.
The Senate has expressed that Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park is protected by international agreements. They also highlighted the fact that the “plan de ordenamiento ecologico” of Los Cabos – approved in 2011 — forbids building on costal dune ecosystems.
WiLDCOAST continues its effort to preserve one of the world’s most beautiful marine ecosystems and the home to whale sharks, humpback whales, sea turtles and schools of sharks.
For more information on Cabo Pulmo, please go to our website www.wildcoast.net or contact our Baja California Sur Field Coordinator Cecilia Fischer.
