On November 30th I took part in a very important event for building a social-ecological sustainable future. I am not referring to the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, which also opened that day in Dubai, but to the first “meeting of the community committee of El Cuyo (a fishing village in the eastern Yucatán) with social organizations, groups, foundations.” , civil associations and universities.” While it initiated a dialogue that could create new alliances for community development and environmental protection, it confirmed that international diplomacy is not up to the global climate challenge.
When Henri Polanco, a strong fisherman and very involved member of the committee's board, invited me to attend the meeting, I was excited about the opportunity to visit this community; knew that the conservation organization Oceana had advised them to establish a fisheries protection zone to protect marine biodiversity, which is threatened in the waters of the peninsula by overfishing of sea cucumbers, squid and lobsters, among other species; He was also aware of the support of Collective Impact for Mexican Fishing and Aquaculture and Transformation of Socio-Environmental Conflicts during the formation of its community committee; I wanted to get to know this exemplary population in building a sustainable fishery.
On a white sandbank in the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, El Cuyo sits at a historic crossroads between the small-scale fishing industry and the peninsula's emerging tourism development, drawn by the region's idyllic beaches. A few nautical miles further east, in the neighboring state of Quintana Roo, lies the popular island of Holbox, which represents a window into the undesirable future for El Cuyo, which has already realized that conventional tourist “development” is a curse in disguise. , because the rapidly increasing demand for real estate, cheap labor, water, electricity, seafood, drugs and entertainment is making the traditional fishing economy unaffordable and triggering processes that ultimately lead to the displacement of city residents.
Therefore, when trucks arrived in the spring of 2022 with materials and workers for the construction of a tourist complex whose dimensions were disproportionate to the community, the residents immediately organized a halt to the work. From then on, a committee was consolidated, which, six months after its formal creation, already has a defined agenda for actions related to public services and communications, social security and the promotion of the local economy, community organization, the environment, education and culture.
The meeting had enormous convening power. Before the inauguration, when the Esplanade of the Nicolás Bravo Elementary School was already full of guests from 32 organizations, I asked Sabas del Carmen Polanco, another board member, how he felt about such a large turnout. He crossed his arms and joked with a very serious expression: “The Mandala was getting busier.” He was referring to the busy nightclub in Playa del Carmen where he worked for many years. Playa del Carmen, the city with the highest urban growth rate in the country, is another example of the threat facing El Cuyo. Jesús Bobadilla, a birdwatching expert who is asked by birdwatchers around the world to guide them to the reserve, mentioned it in his lecture: “Playa del Carmen was a fishing community and currently the fishermen are extinct.” The new Caribbean city is in the hands of foreign owners and organized crime. The inhabitants of this place are threatened with nothing less than extinction.
Meeting of the Community Committee of the Fishermen's Population of El Cuyo, Eastern Yucatán (Mexico).Community Committee of El Cuyo
While climate change commitments were watered down in Dubai thanks to lobbyists from the fossil fuel industry, we were attacked at the meeting by a different kind of interloper. While presenting the committee's progress on the electrical grid and efforts to purchase an ambulance, we were attacked by a troop of mosquitoes, probably hired by a political party to disrupt the local organization. We defended ourselves with self-inflicted slaps. The organizers reacted quickly and Jesús offered us repellent. In this way the crisis could be overcome and the dialogue could continue.
One of the committee's priorities is the protection of the coastal dunes that separate El Cuyo from the beach, which is a testament to its exceptional environmental concern, as the dunes are home to many native and migratory species and serve as natural barriers to protect the coast from hurricanes and rising sea levels , one of the most devastating consequences of polar melting that global warming will bring. A few weeks before the meeting, on November 9, the community had successfully resisted a new looting attempt when people from outside the city arrived in trucks and tractors to collect sand from the dunes and use it to build a charro canvas away from town to use community.
The coastal dunes are one of the most sought-after locations for tourism entrepreneurs who want to offer their customers the coveted “sea view”. As biologist Nora Villamil, who enlightened me on this matter, notes: “oceanfront” or “beachfront” in ecological terms means being in the ecosystem of stabilized coastal dunes, an overlooked and seriously threatened habitat worldwide. and especially in Mexico.
The central activity of the meeting was the worktables, where guests could speak directly with committee members. There were very promising proposals related to waste management (e.g. polluting cooking and motor oils), mangrove forest restoration, formation and training of environmental police, and recovery of traditional fishing gear, among many other ideas. This will require commitment and collaboration to become a reality.
The meeting ended with messages of encouragement, applause and cheers for El Cuyo, where the paternal caring spirit with which state institutions and activism often approach communities begins to erode. The path is not easy, as discord tends to weaken horizontal organizations where a fair balance between contributions and rewards is often not achieved. Furthermore, the Committee must resist attempts at political and economic co-optation, a task that can only be achieved if its members are willing to put the community's interest above personal interest.
I want to believe that the lighthouse that stands on the rock that gives the city its name will guide them through the stormy waters of this century. Community organizing without party affiliation is the last hope for a country ravaged by violence and corruption. While the Mexican government did not do much to protect vulnerable coastal populations at COP 28, the last city of Yucatán began to set an example of admirable social strength. There Mexico ends and another place begins; Starting from El Cuyo, beyond the Caribbean, the six-year term and the 2030 Agenda, there is another path, a hope, a community struggling not to be overwhelmed by the waves of tourism and climate change. I returned from El Cuyo convinced that the key to our global future lies not in the large international forums, but in local meetings like this; To sustain life, we must turn the world upside down.