Tomás Garrido Kumul and his wife Margarita López Kantún, accompanied by children, grandchildren, and neighbors, blocked the passage of the Ie-Tram in the El Fénix neighborhood in Mérida to demand the State government to comply with the commitment they made when they requested the elderly couple a part of their property for the construction of this public transportation route.
The couple spent more than 25 years working there until February 2023 when, according to what they said, personnel from the Institutes of Mobility and Territorial Urban Development (Imdut) and the Yucatán Highway Infrastructure (Incay) arrived.
The Yucatan government envoys asked them to reduce their land by six meters to build the Ie-Tram track. To do this, they had to donate that space to the State government, and they would demolish a shed, part of their business, and a house that the couple had in that place.
Garrido Kumul indicated that he agreed because, in his opinion, it was a good project. Sergio Chan Lugo told him the couple would receive a new home, and the government would build a new shed.
They formalized the deal through a transaction agreement signed on February 22, 2023, between Incay, represented by Chan Lugo, and the couple.
A little more than a year and a half after the work began, the government has partially failed to comply with the agreement. To this date, they have not built the shed.
“That shed was my work tool. We parked cars in here. We sold coconuts and food. We built some rooms with bathrooms, and people who had relatives in the nearby hospital came to lend them. We let them take showers there. You can also say that it was like a social center,” he commented.
Garrido Kumul explained and showed a document that is a minute signed by him, his wife, and the lawyer José Enrique Martínez Huerta, then legal director of the Imdut, where he commits that the Imdut would grant a monthly amount to the couple for six months so that they can rent a home while a new one is built and awarded.
Due to the above, the couple, their family, and friends blocked the Ie-Tram track on 39th Avenue, so the vehicles took alternate routes for their journey.
The couple indicated they would continue with the blockades until the State government complies with the commitments.
“They do not want to comply with what was agreed, with what was signed. That is why we are here. It seems to work for them. They are leaving, and who will solve it for us?” said Mr. Tomás Garrido.
The government stated its position on the protest, ensuring they fully complied with the agreements to carry out road works.
TYT Newsroom
