Pressure on to open Tenacatita beach road before December

GUADALAJARA, Jalisco, Mexico - The La Manzanilla message board posted the report below from Informador.Com.Mx that a meeting was just held of top level Mexican officials, pushing for a reopening of the Tenacatita Beach road, closed since August. 4.

Tenacatita Beach last spring, before seizure

Since the closure, police and/or security forces under the direction of Jose Villalobos of the Rodenas Corp. have barred entry to the public and have had several confrontations with local residents who were evicted from their homes and businesses.

A video of one recent confrontation is here: LINK: Protestors tear down fence, get sprayed with chemicals

The evictees - along with a number of non-Mexican citizens who own property along the ocean beach there - have filed lawsuits in federal court in Guadalajara to regain their lands.

If the road suddenly is opened, it is unclear what people would find when they arrived. According to published reports, virtually all the restaurants - and other facilities like restrooms - have been leveled. Several palapas, with concrete floors have been erected, the same reports say.


Below is a Google translation of what was published.

Here is the direct link to the Informador posting: LINK Informador story (in Spanish)

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FROM INFORMADOR.COM.MX:
GUADALAJARA, JALISCO (23/NOV/2010) .- Federal Deputies PRI, PAN and the PT, as well as representatives of national and state commissions and Human Rights Department of the Interior (Interior Ministry) met yesterday at the Plaza de Armas to give their views on the conflict over land on the beach at Tenacatita. Rep. David Hernandez lamented the absence of representatives of the Executive.
In sum, the deputies asked the head of the Executive, Emilio González Márquez, order the release of the beach and the road before the holidays start decembrinas, with the aim of reviving tourism in the area.
"We intend to make an agreement to open the beach and the road for people to take advantage of this period and thus reactivate the economy a bit."
U.S. Rep. Salvador Caro noted that from August 4 (when the conflict) estimated economic losses to traders for 50 million pesos. For the deputy, the State Government's attitude is a clarion call for "peaceful civil resistance. Jalisco is a state with a serious problem of governance, there are other disputes over territories that the state has failed to solve. The currency of the Government are deaf, we do not hear, not see us .... "
Another absentee was the representative of the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), who sent an official letter in which he explains that he was unable to attend the event by scheduling problems, but reiterated its position that the beach must be free. Other guests that attended were representatives of the company Rodenas, who won a land dispute in the area.
He drew attention to the position of Deputy National Action Party, Luis Meillón Johnston, who admitted that he has talked about it with the governor. "I take the colors of my party, I do not intend to quarrel with the Government or the Director of State Public Security. If this does not solve is politicized. "
"The road may be closed"
The representative of the Human Rights Commission, Alfonso Hernández Barrón, announced the progress of the investigation into the confrontation between police and demonstrators supporting the area. CEDHJ said that immediately calls to withdraw the security forces who blocked the road and the beach at Tenacatita.
"The road may be closed because it was done with public funds. This path must be open, affects a number of fundamental and human rights. "
He recalled that injunctions have been issued for the authorities to avoid trouble among the people. Also felt that they should give psychological support "because there is anguish, despair and suffering, which can cause irreversible damage."
He added that this is one of the most serious issues facing the Government of Jalisco, along with the dissatisfaction of residents to build the dam in the Zapotillo Temacauplín.