The state of Quintana Roo has a population
of about 1.5 million and is located on the eastern part of the Yucatán
Peninsula. Its capital is the drab port town of Chetumal, which also home to a
federal prison. Quintana Roo covers Mexico’s entire Caribbean coast, and
includes the city of Cancún, the islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres, and the
town of Playa del Carmen, as well as many ancient Maya ruins.
Clearly, tourism is critical to Quintana
Roo’s economy, and plays a role in its politics. In this context security is a
critical issue. The fact that the hyper-violent Jalisco New Generation (CJNG)
cartel has been moving into Cancun over the last year, pushing out other gangs,
has been cause for serious concern.
On the political front, Quintana Roo is
quite diverse. The governor represents the National Action Party (PAN). Of the
three federal senators, one is a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), one is a member of the fraudulent “Green” Party (PVEM), and one a
member of the left-of-center Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).
With regard to security and press freedom, there have been two reported murders of journalists: one in 2000, and another back in 2009. However, the “plaza”
(territory) in the tourist mecca of Cancun is now at the center of a conflict between
the Gulf Cartel and the CJNG.
Alfonso Contreras Espinoza, “El Poncho”, a
drug trafficker believed to head the Cancún operations of the Gulf cartel,
was arrested in July 2017 on weapons charges. He was allowed out of a local prison
under guard for treatment at a private hospital for leg problems, when in early
March of this year four gunmen burst into the facility, overcame a guard, and shot to death Contreras
Espinoza and his wife. When assessing motive, as well as the
brazenness of the attack, it can be assumed that the CJNG was likely behind the
murder.
This attack followed on some disturbing events
on the tourist ferry that runs between the Caribbean resorts of Playa del
Carmen and the island of Cozumel. A blast on 21 February shook a ferry plying
the route, injuring 19 Mexicans and at least five US citizens. Then on March 1 undetonated
explosive devices were found on another tourist ferry, again on the route
between Playa del Carmen and Cozumel.
Things began to go awry in Quintana Roo back
in January, 2017, when a shooting at a music festival in Playa del Carmen left
three foreigners and two Mexicans dead. The next day, gunmen attacked the state
prosecutor's office in Cancún, killing four people.
The ongoing conflict between the two
cartels sometimes overshadows other issues. Quintana Roo, which has a lot of
valuable low-lying land near the coast, is often the site of disputes between
real estate interests, many connected to corrupt officials, and
environmentalists.
At the end of May this year the federal environmental
commission, called Profepa (Procuraduría
Federal de Protección al Ambiente), halted five construction
projects near the archeological site of Tolum for environmental violations. The
work on the resort properties was shut down after inspectors found that the projects were in violation of
environmental regulations, and did not have the necessary permits.
The developments, which include 19,000
square meters of oceanfront real estate, were caught with a number of infractions. Wildlife and
plant species from the area’s wetlands and coastal dunes were taken from their
natural habitats. Four cabins were built with wood sourced from within the coastal
wetland ecosystem. Protected areas had been replaced with leisure facilities, a water treatment plant
and an artificial wetland, including a wetland that was filled in to make a
parking lot.
Earlier in April, the Secretariat of
Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), said in a statement that an
urban development plan for the Island of Holbox was unconstitutional, and
threatened the island’s environment as well as the greater Yum Balam protected
area.
Semarnat and the Commission for Natural
Protected Areas (Conanp) have even presented a formal constitutional complaint
in the Supreme Court against the plan, which was prepared by the municipality
of Lázaro Cárdenas, in which Holbox is located.
The municipality has proposal a development
along 22 kilometers of otherwise virgin beaches. The proposal is almost
certainly illegal, given that the entire island is within northern Quintana Roo’s
“Natural Protected Area” (ANP) of Yum Balam, created by decree in 1994 for the
protection of plant and animal life. There was a similar dispute last November,
but that time the locals were complaining about a federal land use plan, which
they considered to be heavy handed.
When it comes to local conflicts, there’s
been some disruption as Uber, yet again, tried to establish a presence in Quintana Roo. Ride-hailing
services stopped operating late in 2017 after several conflicts with taxis, but
at the end of May Quintana Roo’s state Congress approved modifications to the
Mobility Law, which now allows ride share services to operate freely in the
state.
As has happened elsewhere in Mexico, the response
from local taxi drivers was not pretty. Drivers in Cancún blocked traffic in
the city’s hotel zone and downtown, and in the state capital, Chetumal, cab
drivers set up an hour-long blockade. However, a local survey has found that
90% of respondents in Quintana Roo said that they specifically wanted to see
Uber continue operating.
Then there is the matter of Mayan-rights
activist and journalist Pedro Canché, who was arrested in August 2014 for
criticizing Quintana Roo’s PRI governor, Roberto Borge (2011-2016), after
covering a protest over increased water tariffs in the city of Felipe Carrillo
Puerto. Canché was held on trumped up charges of sabotaging the local water
supply. On February 24, 2015, a Quintana Roo district judge ruled that the
proceedings brought against him were arbitrary, and that he had been denied due
process; however he was not released from prison until May 29, 2015.
The story is relevant today because Canché
has since pursued damages against state officials, including the ex-governor.
There is substantial evidence that Canché was jailed because Borge was angry at Canché's reporting, which exposed various offenses committed against the Mayan people.
Canché has had some success. In early May of this year the federal prosecutor's office declared that neither the investigative officer
nor the judge had "any evidence whatsoever" to support a prosecution
against him. Canché is still pursuing his complaint against the former
governor, alleging that it was Borge who specifically ordered his detention, as
well as attempting to over-ride the judicial decision demanding Canché’s
release from jail.
However, Borge has bigger problems. At the
end of his term the Mexican government declared him a criminal – surprising,
given that the PRI is in power, and that it usually requires egregious transgressions
for the federal government to act against a state governor. Borge was arrested
in June 5, 2017 at an the Tocumen International Airport, in Panama, as he was
about to board a flight to Paris. He is alleged to have laundered millions of
dollars via inflated contracts with public aircraft. Though it has not been
proven, the contracts would have been with organized crime groups, with the “legitimate”
money then flowing back to Borge and his criminal clients.
Why does all this have bearing on the federal
election? Because, as this article has shown, the Mexican federal government
plays a strong role disciplining rogue elements in Quintana Roo. It’s the federal
government that goes after developers and protects the environment – not local
or state officials, many of whom are compromised. And it’s the federal
government that brings rogue governors into line.
 |
| Maria Elena Lezma Espinosa: The new mayor of Cancun? |
According to a poll conducted in April, in
Quintana Roo Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) and his Morena-led “Together We Will Make History” coalition leads with 33.6%
support. He is followed by Ricardo Anaya of the right-of-center PAN-led “Frente” coalition –
which bizarrely includes the struggling, left-of-center PRD – with 22.7%
support. And bringing up the rear, as he is in national polls, is the PRI’s José
Antonio Meade with 16.9%.
The simple message is
that the people of Quintana Roo have lost all faith in
the PRI. Even in the City of
Cancun the Morena candidate, María Elena Lezama Espinosa, leads with 34.1%
support. As much as this election is the story of Morena as a new and legitimate
political party, so is it also the story of the collapse of the PRI.
Below are the links to the posts for each state:
Below are the links to the posts for each state:
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