The breach between Mérida’s Deep South and the rest of the city is evident. This represents a true survival challenge in an area that goes totally dark after sunset, that has no sidewalks, where many fatal accidents take place, and that even now, remains forgotten and obliterated, said a veteran leader of the area Germán Ramos Vega.
The Yucatecan urban planner Fernando Alcocer Ávila explained that the creation of a wall of approximately six kilometers along the airport runway divided a large part of the city. The wall was built so that if a plane suffers an accident it does not fall on top of the homes, but rather has enough space on the runway to land.
Although this approach was left out after the formation of the neighborhoods of the so-called Mérida’s Deep South, which now feature a large territory, including houses that were constructed right next to the airport’s wall.
Germán Ramos Vega indicated that social situations stand out that describe the main problems of our local society, which the authorities have not addressed correctly.
“The South is where social differences are evident, but ignored by the authorities, so it is an effect that our own society has created. Furthermore, it is the origin of social problems and effects that have occurred since the first settlements of the people who founded the colonies of the Deep South,” he continued.
Ramos Vega said that it was a constant struggle for all the members, who at that time were just over 300 people, who were looking for a decent place to settle with their families, so it was not until 1990 when the first water and electricity services arrived at the Emiliano Zapata Sur neighborhood.
“We fought for the services that corresponded to us, but when the wall was built, it was another challenge, as a community we were united, but when the accidents began due to lack of sidewalks and lighting in that area, it was one of the biggest concerns we had,” he recalled.
He highlighted that one of the greatest achievements was the union of the neighbors to solve these problems, the authorities came and ordered the construction of the sidewalks in the area, which have not received continuous maintenance, but at that time it was an effective solution for the people.
“The abandonment of our neighborhood by the municipal authorities in both services and security, are more than evident,” declared Ramos Vega.
TYT Newsroom
