Civil Resistance vs Environmental Impunity in the Bay of Puerto Marqués, Acapulco, Mexico

Abstract

The Bay of Puerto Marqués, in the city of Acapulco, is marked by conflicts related to land restraints and expropriation decrees, as a result of its geography and wealth of tourism resources. The alteration of the Bay of Puerto Marqués landscape and its environmental degradation are due to the impunity that prevails in the governmental authority. This paper aims to analyze the alteration of the environment, the complicity of the authorities, the environmental impunity and brokenness of companies of the Marquesanos in regard to the civil resistance that has occurred over two decades. Residents of the local community have confronted government intimidation with force, exposing their own lives to save their cultural heritage. The methodology of the research is qualitative because the paper explains the social and cultural attitudes of the local context. Since 2010, the government authorized a development at the Majahua marine, for which there was a 1.7 hectare marine fill, violating existing regulations; meanwhile the Environmental Impact Statement clearly states the damage to the bay and the effect on tourism service providers. In underdeveloped countries such as Mexico, environmental sustainability is a key area of study, but there are few observed positive actions because of impunity.