Cozumel News Vol. 5

Cozumel News in English, Vol 6
June 18-26, 2004

HOTEL OCCUPANCY UP 26% Diario de Quintana Roo

Cozumel Hotel Association director Javier Aranda Pedrero informs that despite recent heavy rains that affected the municipality, they have great expectations for the summer season. Hotel occupancy rates for Saturday were 73.65 percent compared to 55.12 percent last year at this time.

Aranda Pedrero says that the news that Cozumel was declared a disaster area has not affected hotel occupation. He credits the local tourism promotion council who reacted quickly and maintained direct communication with their associates in the U.S., letting them know that tourist activity was still operating at 100 percent.

Moreover hotel and airport data indicates that there was not a single cancellation during or after the heavy rains, and tour operators continued to receive reservation requests.

For summer 2004 a total of 101 weekly flight arrivals are scheduled for the Cozumel airport.

 

CORAL DAMAGE IS SERIOUS Diario de Quintana Roo

Perhaps the reef in Cozumel will never be the same, or maybe it will. For now we can only wait. Yes, wait to see if the asphalt spill of a few weeks ago, where the substance actually made its way to the "marine bed" or ocean floor, will result in permanent damages.

Marine park experts - the park is the affected area -- explained that the emulsion was water-soluble, which is why the current caused the spill to spread and made it impossible to isolate or absorb the substance.

Besides the damage to the coral, there were 27 square meters of mangrove polluted by the emulsified asphalt.

Investigations continue their course.

 

LAWSUIT FILED Diario de Quintana Roo

Biologist Luis Fernando Espinosa Cisneros, secretary of Mexico's "Green Party" (PVEM) informed that they have filed suit against city hall as being directly responsible for the asphalt spill that occurred last week. They say that while the company that was contracted to repave that area caused the ecological disaster, the municipality is directly responsible because they did not supervise the project.

The biologist stated that "The truck used to spread the asphalt was in very poor condition and the tube used to dispense the solution was Geri rigged with ropes rather than supported by a brace".

He went on to explain that they are preparing the documentation to charge city hall for the ecological damage, which affected 14 different groupings of coral.

He added that that they will also prepare charges against the local government for their decision to dump sewage directly into the ocean during the flooding. They confirm that a total of 600 liters of sewage per minute was discharged into the sea over a 12-hour period.

MAYOR CRITICIZED Diario de Quintana Roo

Mauricio Rivero y May, leader of the local PAN party publicly criticized Cozumel's mayor and the state government, saying that there was complicity between the two because "they're both PRI party members". The leader accused mayor Carlos Hernandez Blanco of exaggerating the flood damage in Cozumel in order to access special federal funding.

In addition to this, Rivero y May claimed that all of the food and supplies provided by the private sector and various government entities are being used by the mayor to gain votes for his party.

At a recent press conference, Rivero y May maintained that even though there were 20,000 disaster victims in Cozumel, donations reached only 3,000 citizens.

GRADUATION COSTS SKY-HIGH Novedades de Quintana Roo

As the school year ends parents expect their pocket books to be hit hard due to the high cost of clothing, shoes, accessories and additional expenses for the graduation parties organized by local schools.

For example, for every preschooler, primary and secondary student graduating, parents can expect to spend anywhere from 900 pesos to 1,500 pesos for graduation. In a recent poll, mothers and fathers commented that the costs are too high, particularly if you are a low-income family.

Among the expenses they mentioned were dress clothes and new shoes for the boys and the cost of having a special dress made for the girls, as well as new shoes and a professionally styled hairdo. They also added the cost of invitations, party favors, and the dinner.

Julia Ramirez, whose daughter will graduate from sixth grade this year, said that in just the dress and shoes required by the school for graduation, she would spend 700 pesos. The invitations, favors and the meal will add another 400 pesos to the bill.

Carmen Rodríguez' daughter will graduate from preschool this year. The school is organizing a little graduation party and each parent must pay 900 pesos.

SERVICES IN CHANKANNAB SUSPENDED Diario de Quintana Roo

The environmental protection unit known as PROFEPA closed five dive shops located in Chankanaab Park as well as Dolphin Discovery. The businesses were shut down because they were not charging clients a use fee for the protected area and didn't have operation permits from the national commission of protected natural areas.

PROFEPA delegate Rafael Muñoz Berzunza explained that irregularities were detected about a month-and-a-half ago and the businesses were told to get themselves in order. However, to date, not one of them had complied.

The suspension will be lifted when the service providers have the corresponding permits and can prove that they are charging clients a users fee.

THREE MORE PATROL VEHICLES ADDED Novedades de Quintana Roo

Mayor Carlos Hernandez Blanco presented 3 new patrol pick-ups to the municipal police department, as well as equipment, uniforms and bulletproof vests in a recent ceremony. At the same time he announced that GERI (a special immediate reaction group) would have a "precinct house" in the 10 de Abril neighborhood in an effort to reinforce security.

Police chief Rudy Erosa Naverrete assured that with the three additional vehicles they would be able to handle the island's needs. They now possess 30 motorcycles, 21 sedans and 7 pick-ups with which to patrol the various city sectors.

BICYCLE POLICE NOTICEABLE IN THEIR ABSENCE Novedades de Quintana Roo

Nine days after all of the hoopla announcing the addition of 10 bicycle units to the police department, the "policycles" are nowhere to be found. The bicycle police grew out of the Cozumel police academy and supposedly cover the downtown area of San Miguel and particularly the Benito Juarez Park.

Friday, June 11, the 10 elements were presented with great fanfare as the newest addition to the island's downtown security force. In an informal poll taken among downtown merchants and service providers recently, they informed that they had not seen the policycles at all, and their supposed strong presence and vigilance was, so far, nonexistent.

These opinions were noted at noon on Sunday and later in the day during another run through the downtown area, the elusive bicycle police were still nowhere to be found.

There were some people that we talked with who knew nothing about this new security force. They were given clues such as the color of the uniform - white and gray - and that they rode bicycles, but even with that information it was still impossible to find anyone who had seen one.

Some of those we spoke with dared to demand that the public security authorities get to work and that they stop using citizens' tax dollars to pay for big events where they announce new personnel that apparently don't exist.

COZUMEL - A VERY PEACEFUL CITY Diario de Quintana Roo

The marches against violence in Mexico City are a wake-up call to authorities in major urban areas in Mexico; fortunately Cozumel enjoys a security that is envied by many other entities in the country.

Cozumel Police Chief Rudy Erosa Navarrete expressed this sentiment at the recent inauguration of GERI's new operation base in the Adolfo López Mateo neighborhood.

Erosa Navarrete informed that as of today they have not registered a single public murder, bank robbery or kidnapping, making Cozumel one of the safest cities in the country.

Police commander Victor Alvear Martínez informed that the principal crime here on the island is motorcycle theft. This month a total of 8 thefts were reported, however, the police have recovered all but two.