Families from the north of the city carried out the symbolic closing of the construction work being done in the area of the Altabrisa Archeo-Ecological Park, where the Mérida City Hall intends to build the project “Tho’ Park for all”.
Shortly before 10 a.m., adults, children and even pets began to gather at the gazebo located outside the Country Towers apartment complex, on 21st Street and 22A in the Altabrisa subdivision.
There, they recalled that for more than 12 years the families of this area have been asking the municipal authorities to build a park in Lot 460, located in the heart of the residential area, which was destined to become a green area for recreation on the original blueprint.
“Since we came to live in this area of the city we were told that there were no green areas in the private areas because that space (lot 460) was going to be built as a complete park for everyone, but over the years neither the owners of the subdivision nor the city council have paid any attention to us,” said Luis Montoya Martínez, a neighbor of the area.
The protester indicated that the green areas in this quadrant of the city have diminished drastically, since they have all been sold to real estate developers for the construction of residential buildings, departmental towers and shopping malls.
However, in the Archeoecological Park, which comprises two lots of just over seven hectares, nothing has been built because the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) would not allow it due to the archeological remains.
For this reason, for more than a decade the developers have been trying to swap lot 460 for the lot currently occupied by the space with Mayan vestiges, which was achieved during the current municipal administration and then presented the project “Tho’ Parque para Todos” (Tho’ Park for All).
Ruben Presuel Polanco, of the Altabrisa Neighborhood Association, indicated that they are not against the construction of the recently announced project, but that they also want the original promise of a central park to be fulfilled.
He also denounced the cutting down of more than 4,000 square meters of vegetation around the Archeoecological Park to open streets surrounding the new facility, which promises to be a “green lung” for the north of the city.
They recalled that according to the General Law of Sustainable Forest Development, any urban area with a surface area greater than 1,500 square meters of tree canopy is considered a forest zone, and the land where Tho’ will be built is much larger.
For this reason, they called for a halt to the ecocide that began in mid-January.
At the site they also carried out the so-called “Clothesline of Shame”, where with the help of banners they exhibited photographs and documents that endorse the construction of Altabrisa Park on Lot 460.
During the day, during which they placed a tarpaulin to close the area where City Hall employees are already working, and the residents of Altabrisa ended up their protest by taking out of their cars shovels, and pickaxes and planting several trees right by the entrance to the site.
TYT Newsroom
